Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UMass Pow Wow honors Native American culture

Honoring Native American cultural traditions in dance, music, crafts and food, the University of Massachusetts will host a powwow on Saturday in conjunction with Thursday’s scheduled symposium, “Indigenous Peoples, Cultural Survival through Art Education and Health.”

The symposium, which is sponsored by the UMass certificate program in Native American Indian studies, the Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center, Native American student services and the Native American Student Association, will kick-off April 22 from 9:15 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge of the Student Union on campus and continue on Friday place from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the Marriott Center on the 11th floor of the Campus Center. Following the symposium, the powwow will be held Saturday at the Curry Hicks Cage.

According to Joyce W. Vincent, associate director of the UMass Native American student services, the powwow has been a significant cultural event on campus since the 1980s.

“The powwow is a means of sharing part of our diverse cultures with the campus and the Pioneer Valley communities,” Vincent said.  “There are dancers and singers coming from a variety of tribal backgrounds.”

Vincent added that the ceremonies to be featured during the powwow will include the blessing of the circle, a grand entry by the participants and a veterans’ dance and flag song, as well as various exhibitions of specific dance styles of different tribal regions and intertribal dancing.

About 60 dancers are expected to take part in the Saturday’s celebrations, according to Vincent, who added that eastern social dances and songs specific to tribes of the Northeast will be featured throughout the day.

Vincent also hinted there may be additional cultural dances performed by UMass students from some of the student cultural organizations on campus.

In addition to the Native American craft and food vendors at the event, those in attendance will also be able to purchase beadwork, baskets and silver jewelry, as well as sample foods such as buffalo, venison, corn soup and vegetarian cuisine.

The powwow will be open to the public from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m., with admission being a donation to help with the cost of the event.  The suggested donations are $5 for an individual in attendance and $10 for a family.

For those who cannot afford a donation to the powwow, Vincent suggests supporting the vendors instead.

“No one will be turned away if they cannot donate,” she said.  “Everyone is feeling the impact of the recession and the goal of the event is making diversity engagement accessible.”

Vincent added that there will also be a bone marrow donation information table and bone marrow drive during the powwow, which is sponsored by the Native American student organizations from throughout the Five College area.

Donation tables to aid the earthquake victims in Haiti and in Chile are also scheduled to be present.

This week’s symposium, Vincent said, is expected to attract 15 to 20 undergraduate and graduate scholars from the Five Colleges as well as two indigenous elders.

Paula Dove-Jennings, of the Narragansett tribal nation, will speak on “Interpreting History,” on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge, and Reuben “Butch” Phillips of the Penobscot tribal nation will discuss “Penobscot River Restoration” on Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Campus Center.

The undergraduate and graduate students will present a discussion from 10 a.m. until noon on both days of the symposium.  The discussion will be focused on a variety of topics ranging from film, art, music, domestic matters, cultural identity and bicultural teaching methodologies.

The presentation sessions of the symposium are free and open to the public.

According to Vincent the event, along with the powwow, is the result of collaborative support from the offices of the deputy provost and the dean of undergraduate advising and academics, the graduate school, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and the Commonwealth Honors College.

“This type of collegiate collaboration, coupled with cultural engagement and outreach to the communities of our students, is an example of the best practice for expanding our concepts of diversity, community outreach and service learning as inclusive within academic affairs,” Vincent said.

She added, “I am so proud to work with students, academic deans and community leaders in a manner that allows the campus to host such an exciting and innovative means of intergenerational, cross-disciplinary and community service learning.”

 

Jennifer Heshion can be reached at [email protected].

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