Powwow is set to feature traditional singing, dancing, and food; grand entry is scheduled to begin at noon Saturday April 12

By Cameron Aalto, Ashland.news

The Native American Student Union (NASU) at Southern Oregon University (SOU) will host its 32nd annual powwow Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13. The powwow will offer food, music, and opportunities for shopping. 

“Powwow is open to anyone and everyone. We say that it’s open to the public and it’s free, so there’s no cost to enter, and anyone, Native or not, is welcome to come to celebrate and join us at the powwow,” said Aiyanna Brown, NASU Co-Chair. 

Brown is a senior at SOU scheduled to graduate this year with a Bachelor of Science degree in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies with a certificate in Native American Studies. 

Brown says that powwow is a great opportunity to learn more about Native culture, “if you’ve never experienced or been exposed to a lot of Native culture before, a powwow is a really great way to get involved because it’s so diverse and open to the public and … community. People have the opportunity to look at different regalias, different dances, hear different drum groups, and see different vendors and their artworks, so it’s a really great way to expose yourself to just a vast diversity of Native culture.”

This year, NASU will be featuring performances from some of the cultural clubs on campus like the Latino Student Union, the Samoan Club, and potentially the Ho`opa`a Hawai`i Club. 

“This year we’re not getting as many outside people, but we’re trying to highlight more of our student clubs within SOU.”

Brown shares that powwows are intertribal, meaning, “people from many different tribes and many different walks of life all come together to basically celebrate. Some people view it as more serious ceremony, and other people view it as just a big coming together in celebration, and everything in between, and all of that is right.”

She explains that powwows allow opportunities for connecting with community, saying, “it’s a way to connect with other Native relatives, as well as bring our non-Native allies in and show them a little more of our culture, show them how we celebrate, and invite them in in certain areas.”

Amid fears of federal funding threats, Brown says that NASU has not yet experienced any direct impacts, but has noticed a “heightened anxiety and stress (for) students which definitely affects school work and other parts of their lives.” 

While NASU itself is separate from the Equity Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) office, they work closely with the Native Nations Liaison office, which is housed within EDI. While there “has been talk,” Brown said, “We try to stay as informed as we can and we have all kind of decided that we’re just going to keep on doing what we’re doing no matter what, and keep on pushing forward, and continuing to be resilient is the way that we’re going to resist any pushbacks that we’re getting.”

Despite political anxiety, Brown has noticed an increase in support: “Given the current political climate, I have actually seen a lot more people and organizations in our community wanting to help out, so it’s kind of a positive and a negative; we’re experiencing a lot of these unsure times … but through that we’ve gotten a lot of support, a lot of people reaching out (and) wanting to help us with volunteer(ing) or financ(es).”

She continued by saying, “I think it’s been really great to see the connections that NASU has made throughout the years that are still coming back to benefit the students of this year, and possibly benefit the students of next year.”

Community members can support powwow by coming to the event, sharing their flyer, and spreading the word. “We’d love to get as many people from the community to come to powwow as possible,” Brown said, “so that’s a big way to help, is just to spread the word.” 

If unable to make powwow but still wanting to show support, Brown says to instead support Native artists and Native-owned businesses — “supporting one Native person in our community is supporting our whole Native community.”

Additionally, NASU is currently looking for volunteers for the event and financial sponsors. To sign up for volunteering, click here — if interested in sponsoring the event, click here.

Ashland.news copy editor Cameron Aalto is a recent graduate of Southern Oregon University. Email him at aaltoc@sou.edu.

Related stories:

SOU celebrates its 31st annual powwow (April 12, 2024)

Thousands turn out for 31st annual powwow (April 17, 2024)

Southern Oregon University’s 30th annual Powwow continues Sunday (April 5, 2023)