A Powwow right in the middle of Riverside

As people walked in, they could hear rattles, drums, and laughter in the distance and smell fry bread already cooking. The 40th Annual Sherman Indian High School Powwow opened its usually locked gates to welcome the public inside on April 18 in Riverside. The long-awaited event was a social gathering to reconnect and a competitive way to have fun at the same time.

The powwow brought many Native American tribal members, from as far as the Canadian border to Mexico and from the far Midwest to the Pacific Ocean. They drove in to participate as vendors or for the dancing and combined drumming and singing competitions.

​The school has a decades-long history of hosting its own powwows each year, except last year. Some believe that budget cuts made by the Trump Administration may have led to the event being dropped last year and to a severe reduction in the number of students allowed to attend the school.

“So when a powwow doesn’t happen, a lot of people start to feel a little off,” Sam Bearpaw said. “But to be back this year [is] phenomenal.” Bearpaw, a Chiricahua Apache, is a well-known Native American actor and personality, seen in 17 movies and other projects over the years.

Lorene Sisquoc, a Fort Sill Apache/Cahuilla, curator of the Sherman Museum and a retired teacher, has always supported the students. Her mother, Tonita Largo-Glover, started organizing the intertribal powwow with some friends in 1986 and it transformed into an annual event.

“The purpose [of the powwow] is to bring culture and tradition to our students who are away from their tribal communities during the school year,” Sisquoc said. “The powwow provides them a time to learn about other tribes and even explore their own tribal powwow customs.”

Sisquoc reminisced about when powwows began on campus as an opportunity for students’ families to visit their children. Sherman alumni also return to the school to reconnect with their “school family.”

The Southern California Bird Singers performed at the beginning of the powwow. Then the first Grand Entry was led into the arena by veterans carrying flags, followed by all the native competitors wearing tribal regalia.

The colorful powwow was held on the football field, with a large grassy dance circle in the center. The different tribes wore their own handmade traditional deerskin tribal clothing or cloth regalia when competing. The event also featured many artistic craft and food vendor booths for the public to shop.

​The food vendors sold the ever-popular Indian fry bread with sweet condiments and Indian tacos with ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese, piled high on a large fry bread.

​The vendor booths were set up along the entire track. The crafts were handmade and ranged from solid-silver jewelry to drums, paintings, clothing, and skillful beadwork across many different mediums.

Bonnie Walker, a Rosebud Sioux, is a craft vendor and started working at the school as a traditional arts and crafts teacher for the students. After Walker retired, she began working the powwow road, traveling to them to sell her colorful beadwork on deerskin and cloth, as well as making carved shell or wire-wrapped jewelry.

Despite the powwow typically being a three-day event, Walker made the point that although this year’s powwow was only for one day, she and her husband drove from the Grand Canyon in Arizona, knowing they “still had to come because Sherman is family.”

During the dinner break, the Apache Crown Dancers were in the dance circle, performing their ceremonial Gaan Dance to protect the community from disease and enemies. They wore hoods and were painted white, being the spiritual messengers between worlds.

Master of Ceremonies Kelly Looking-Horse, a Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux in South Dakota, said, “They asked if I could come out and be a part of this powwow…and help out with announcing.” He added, “Shoot, I didn’t even hesitate because this is all about honoring the children who go to school here…They want to carry on our ways that have been…for thousands of years…even before the white man ever set foot on this continent.”