By KAYLEA BROWN, Senior Reporter
The Native American Student Association will host a powwow on Northwestern’s Alva campus on April 23.
The powwow – a Native American gathering in which singing, dancing and celebrating history takes place – will be the first in school history.
Savannah Francis, a senior political science major from Tahlequah, said the powwow has been a goal of the club since she and her brother helped start it in 2019.
“We really just wanted to promote diversity and Native American culture on campus because there hasn’t been an event like this in school history,” Francis said. “The Native American population [here] isn’t as big, so we wanted to find a way to kind of promote it and show everyone here what it’s like back home, where the Native American population is much more dense.”
The powwow will begin at 2 p.m. on the university’s intramural field, which is between Percefull Fieldhouse, the J.R. Holder Wellness Center and Coronado Hall. It’s slated to end at 10 p.m.
Francis, 20, said the intertribal powwow will have representation from multiple tribes.
Members of the head staff for the powwow will come from Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Cherokee, Mvskoke Creek and Aleut tribes. Other tribes will be represented at the powwow through various members of the club.
The event has several elements to it, Francis said. A meal will be provided for the head staff, numerous dances will take place, various groups will have booths and NASA members will sell items they’ve made.
“We’re going to have a drum group come in made of Cheyenne and Arapaho members,” Francis said.
“They’re going to be playing the drum the entire time, so it’s going to be a drum surrounded by singers.”
Angel Marshall, the club’s vice president, said she and Francis have spent a significant amount of time organizing the event. They’re still finalizing some details.
“There’s only one solidified job right now because we’re all going to be putting our hands in everything,” Marshall said. “Savannah and I are overseeing the entire thing and helping where we can because there’s so much to do.”
Marshall, a 20-year-old senior English major from Tahlequah, said she is excited to see how the event has come together and to see the support the club has received. She said she’s also excited to bring some of the Native American culture she’s familiar with to this side of the state.
“Oklahoma’s full of Native American culture,” she said. “So many people are Native in Oklahoma, but it’s crazy how a lot of people on this side of the state have never been to a powwow.”
Francis said she believes everyone should come out to experience something they haven’t done before.
However, she wants them to remember that it is a sacred Native American tradition.
“There’s some etiquette,” Francis said. “To be respectful at the powwow, don’t mock anything. Just because it’s something new you see, don’t mock the singers or the dancers. Don’t touch their regalia.
Don’t point at the dancers, and if you’re going to take pictures or recordings, a good rule of thumb would probably be to ask first.”
