Dancers in brightly colored costumes, intricately adorned with feathers and embroidery, gathered on the Intramural Field this weekend and moved to the beat of traditional American Indian drums.
These dancers had come to UCLA to celebrate the 22nd annual UCLA Pow Wow, one of the largest student-run events on campus, hosted by the American Indian Student Association.
Christian Tanja, a fourth-year psychobiology student, said he was drawn to the expression of cultural heritage at the Pow Wow.
“It’s good to see people celebrate their identity. I’m just in awe of the diversity, the color, the expression of life,” he said.
Theresa Stewart, a member of the AISA and a fourth-year American Indian studies student, said one of the most unique parts of the Pow Wow is the dance in the middle of the day in which everyone, no matter what background they come from, can participate.
“It’s what makes our event different,” she said. “There are lots of cultural shows on campus. But during the shows people only watch; they’re not involved. Here, people can participate and interact with the Native people.”
The festivities went from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and participants competed for singing and dancing prizes.
Beginning with the Gourd Dance, an American Indian tradition in which dancers shake rattles and lift their heels to the beat of a drum, dancing and singing continued throughout the day.
Dancers entered the field during the Grand Entry, a procession of participants to kickoff the weekend’s dancing and singing competitions. They entered one by one, circling the field in time with the drum beats and the sharp, forceful chanting.
The competition was inter-tribal so anyone could participate, no matter their tribe affiliation. Young children and elderly adults danced together, both expressing their cultural heritage.
Community member and Spiritual Advisor Jimi Castillo then blessed the Pow Wow ground and the event.
After the ceremony, women must wear shawls on the dancing ground and men are not allowed to wear hats, said Stewart.
Those involved in the competition take the event very seriously, she said.
Additionally, feathers and different types of jewelry all have important meanings in the event.
“People are wearing very sacred objects,” Stewart said. “Many are wearing eagle feathers, which only Native people can wear by law. They are sacred to us because eagles are the animal that fly highest in the sky ““ they are closest to the creator.”
Rose Quintana from the Sac and Fox Nation, a tribe from Oklahoma that is a combination of the two formerly separate groups, sold jewelry at the Pow Wow.
She said each different piece of traditional jewelry has a unique meaning to American Indians. For example, the heishi, a small, pale shell is meaningful because previously many tribes could not visit the coast and ocean.
“Jewelry is very precious and reminds us of our past and how lucky we are to be able to obtain these stones and shells,” she said.
Besides jewelry, vendors also sold American Indian art, bags, clothes and traditional foods, such as frybread.
Stewart said the weekend-long event took the American Indian Student Association all year to plan. This included obtaining funding and contacting vendors and performers from across the country.
“Overall, we have spent about $45,000 on the event,” she said. “We spent most of the money on renting the actual field and the canopies, but it was an intensive process.”
Tanja said he believes it was worth it.
“This is the second time I’ve come to the Pow Wow because there’s something that draws you to it,” he said. “You can’t find this anywhere else.”