OVERLAND PARK—With a raspy voice, the emcee announces the final call for grand entry. Figures dressed in majestic regalia begin to amass near the entrance. As the colorful yarn, ribbons and feathers that adorn their regal attire come together, they weave an exquisite impromptu tapestry.
While the field of colors continues to accumulate, one figure emerges.
He stands about six feet tall. His face painted yellow with two vertical black streaks, one through the center of each eye, running from forehead to chin and painted black lips. His hair tightly braided into two pony tails, one draped over each shoulder. On his head, he wears a “dog soldier bonnet,” a headdress covered in feathers that comes from his people, the Southern Cheyenne. He commands attention.
His name is Tim Howlingcrane, and he is the head men’s dancer for the third annual American Indian Health Research & Education Alliance (AIHREA) Powwow, hosted by the college on May 2 in the GYM field house.
“I’m honored to be selected [head men’s dancer],” Howlingcrane said. “It’s a great honor to be the one they choose.”
Howlingcrane was appointed head men’s dancer by the powwow committee, and that status requires a lot of responsibility.
“You have to start each song,” Howlingcrane explained. “You have to be available for whenever they need you for whatever they need you for... It’s pretty involved.”
Again, the emcee addresses the crowd. He asks everyone in attendance to honor the dancers by rising out of their seats. A drum circle positioned in the center of the arena begins to call out. The well-worn path carved by his ancestors guides Howlingcrane’s footsteps as he faithfully leads the dancers, about 170 in all, into the circle shaped arena. The festivities have officially begun.
“Bigger than I expected,” Howlingcrane said of the turnout. “There are a lot more dancers than I expected to be here.”
Rich in tradition
With all the dancers now parading through the arena, a traditional prayer song begins. Once complete, the spectators take their seats while the dancers leave the arena. Now the various dancing exhibitions may begin.
Howlingcrane takes a moment to explain some of the various dance styles.
There are different standard dance types which are then separated into men’s and women’s categories. He speaks about southern traditional straight dancing first.
“They have a very distinguished way of dancing. They are telling their own story of the hunt and of the chase.”
The next type of men’s dance that Howlingcrane explained is grass dancing.
“The grass dancers wear outfits with yarn. They imitate the grass blowing in the breeze and when they step a lot of times they step high like they’re dancing down the grass.”
Their purpose was to go out and stomp down the grass in preparation for a dance.
“The fancy dancers are probably the newest dance style,” Howlingcrane continued. “During the Wild West show days people got bored with watching the Indians and their traditional dances and they wanted something flashy and faster so they came up with the men’s fancy dance.”
Women’s dances include buckskin and cloth dances, named after the style of clothing worn. The fancy shawl dance shares its beginnings with the men’s fancy dance, from the Wild West show days. It is meant to represent a butterfly spreading its wings after emerging from its cocoon.
As for the jingle dress dance, it’s “a medicine dance from the northern tribes, the Ojibwa people,” Howlingcrane explained. “It was dreamed in a dream how to make the dress and how to do the dance. It has become very popular... and it continues to evolve, they come up with new variations all the time.”
Through a spectator’s eyes
The rhythmic beat of a drum begins to thunder through the air as though it was a heartbeat giving life to the vivid sea of hues swirling hypnotically around the center drum circle. Lyrics echo across the arena while figures harmoniously dance with the cadence of the drum beat. Spectators, captivated by the energy of the moment, watch intently with a sense of anticipation and fascination.
The sustained energy level impressed many of the attendees.
“Right from the beginning there was a lot of energy,” JCCC student Lexee Triggs said.
“It was really exciting. Lots of color and sounds and things going on. It was just very alive.”
Triggs, attending her first powwow, said it definitely would not be her last. “To be honest it was a lot more fun than I expected... I really got into it,” Triggs said.
“I mean the music, the sound, the way the people get into the dancing, just the heart that’s involved in it, it’s really amazing.”
More than a celebration
The powwow offered more than just beautiful dancing. Vendors lined the edges of the venue offering a variety of handmade crafts, including dream catchers and jewelry. Authentic Native American food, such as fry bread, could also be had.
Despite the fun and flashy atmosphere, the powwow also served a more serious purpose. Sponsored by AIHREA, the powwow aimed to raise awareness to health problems that plague Native Americans. Sprinkled throughout the venue were multiple free health screening stations.
“Since it’s a health and wellness powwow, we provide free health screenings,” associate professor of Anthropology Sean Daley explained.
Daley is one of the co-founders of AIHREA and serves as the associate director. “But they’re not just a screening. We also have the resources to get people in to see doctors they need to see to get the services they need.”
AIHREA, in its third year, consists of multiple partner organizations, including the college, who “help each other out by pooling our resources and our abilities to address various needs in the American Indian community,” Daley explained.
As for the powwow, Daley seemed pleased.
“We were well represented across the board. We had people from the southwest, from the plains, from the great lakes, from the southeast, from Oklahoma. We had a good running of different tribal nations represented.
“Overall turnout was good... people came out, they bought food, they visited and bought with vendors. All things being equal we were very, very happy with the turnout,” Daley said.