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news
Pow Wow scheduled
to commence Saturday
By Alex Roman
On-line Forty-Niner
The second oldest
Pow Wow west of the Mississippi is again coming to Cal State
Long Beach for the 31st year.
"This is a
great way for the students, faculty and community to bring
this type of culture to the campus," said Les Peters
who is heading up the Pow Wow committee. "People will
be coming in from all over, for example our host drum is coming
all the way from Idaho."
The event will
feature booths with vendors selling their products, authentic
food, a dance contest, drumming and singing.
"The Pow Wow
is like a party, a lot of people think that there are ceremonies
or things that go on, but it's very non-secular," said
Anna Nazarian-Peters, adviser to American-Indian Student Study
Center. It's a social event, an opportunity for people to
get together, meet new friends and to get re-acquainted with
old friends that we only get to see once a year at this Pow
Wow."
This year's Pow
Wow, which will run Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday
from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will be hosted by Roy Track with James
Red Eagle serving as arena director.
Nazarian-Peters
said events like this have a special importance for the CSULB
community.
"In particular
with American-Indian students or any other group who are not
in the majority or who are not the dominant group, it's really
important to have cultural events like this," Nazarian-Peters
said. "Through events like these you're acknowledging
that the culture and tradition are important, especially with
American-Indians it shows that they are still alive, that
they are still very active in the community."
Organizers are
a bit concerned about the weather storm that is reportedly
coming in, which could harm this completely outdoor event.
"All the rain
[indoor] areas around campus are already taken up, so we're
really hoping this storm system will pass," Peters said.
"Either way, the Pow Wow will go on and the amount of
people that will attend will depend on the weather. Usually
we get between 3,000 and 5,000 people. It's really hard to
count because we don't charge for the event."
The highlights
of the weekend will be the dance contest on Saturday and the
singing of a song written especially for the students on campus.
"Sunday will
be special for the students, because they get a chance to
acknowledge the people who have helped them and there's also
the singing of the student song," Nazarian-Peters said.
"The Native-American students paid a drum group called
Elks Whistle to compose a song for them and so the song belongs
to the students here at CSULB. Nobody else is allowed to sing
that song, unless they get permission."
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