Pow wows continue celebration, education of Native American traditions

SANBORNTON — Walking through the trees at Dulac Land Trust, the sound of drumming amplified by speakers carried on the wind, making the traditional Native American music seem as natural to the landscape as the crickets’ song at night. This is a sign of the Sugar Run Pow Wow, held by the Laconia Indian Historical Association, in full swing. Association secretary Meredith Audet said everybody was welcome to come participate and learn about the pow wow.

“The whole idea is to teach and preserve the traditions and the culture and to teach the non-natives as well as the younger natives who may not have gotten exposure,” Audet said.

The event took place June 28-30, with ceremonies and activities on the Saturday and Sunday. The days started with the grand entry and two ceremonial songs: the flag and veterans songs. The grand entry honors elders, while the flag song honors the flags of different countries, including any native tribes represented, and the veterans song honors veterans, as Native Americans have the highest rate of military service per capita of any ethnic group in the United States. Anyone being honored by one of the songs was invited to join the dance circle to celebrate and pray. Documenting the songs was prohibited, as they were considered sacred ceremonies. After the songs, intertribal dances, where anyone can participate, continued throughout the day, and participants visited the snack bar and shopped at various vendors.

Kenzo Morris, a Belmont resident whose heritage includes Passamaquoddy and Cherokee, has gone to the Sugar Run Pow Wow since his 20s.

“I want to stay connected to my roots as everybody else does, and we all have our own stories, our rich histories, and those are things to be celebrated,” he said.

Morris is in one of four drumming groups that provides music for the intertribal dances. The group, called Heavy Rain, is led by Erik Charon, from Reading, Vermont, who is of Abenaki heritage.

“It takes a lot of coordinating to see if people are prepared or not. You know, speeding up the drumbeat, slowing it down,” Charon said. “The drum also is providing honor beats, to honor whatever that looks like, the different directions, the people, the spirit.”

The drums are an integral part of pow wows. The drumming groups strike the drum in unison, while the leader, like Charon said, can provide an offbeat honor beat. The drummers also sing in unison, and take turns singing solo. The drumming not only provides rhythm to the dances, but also is a way Native Americans connect with nature. Leandre Berard, also known by his native name “Standing Bear,” is part of a drumming group from Massachusetts, and spoke to the significance of the drum.

“It's to express our connection of Mother Earth because the drum is our connection to Mother Earth,” he said. “When we connect with Earth, we connect with all things.”

Dancing is also integral to the pow wow. Kristy Smith, of Sanbornton, who is of Lakota and Ojibwe heritage, was one of the dancers, and the pow wow is how she makes special connections with people.

“We all know each other from going to different pow wows,” Smith said. “They become like family. They don't say they are friends, we say they are family.”

Smith was wearing traditional red regalia called a prayer dress, that displayed silver jingles down her body. The red represents missing and murdered indigenous women. As Smith dances, the jingles strike each other, making a ringing sound. Smith said every time the jingles ring, they give off a prayer. Smith also donned a fan made of feathers. Whenever it is lifted into the air, it signifies a prayer, and honors whoever she is dancing for.

Smith has been doing the jingle dance for 12 years.

“That’s my passion, that’s what I do,” she said. “It’s how I pray for the people.”

The pow wow brings together native people who might not be able to practice their traditions without the event. Morris said due to colonization from European settlers, a lot of New England tribes were wiped out, causing the tribes and their peoples to become disjointed. This pow wow, Morris said, allows him the free expression of his traditions and culture.

“When you think about history and where it started, colonization, it started in the New England area. [And] when you read your history books, a lot of these tribes were killed off,” Morris said. “You couldn't say you were native. My grandmother didn't say she was native for a long time because in her era, you could get the crap kicked out of you. So there is that history that a lot of New England natives all carry, and at times in history, we couldn't say who we were.”

Treasurer Terry Travers, who is also pow wow chair, does not have native heritage, but has been a part of the Laconia Indian Historical Association for 25 years. She says her passion for native culture and tradition comes from the country’s ignorance and misunderstanding of the history of native tribes.

“As a young child and a teenager in school, you're taught certain American history. And I found that being up here participating, asking questions, viewing what they did, it was not the same as what I was told.”

While the Sugar Run Pow Wow was established to bring together native peoples to celebrate and practice their culture and traditions, the association welcomes everyone, native or non-native, to experience and often participate in the intertribal dances to help educate people.

“We welcome all here,” Audet said. “We want everybody to come and participate, and learn about the history.”

Anyone interested in learning more can attend the Learners Weekend event on Saturday, July 27, or the Labor Day Pow Wow on Saturday, Aug. 31. For more information, visit lihaofnh.net/upcoming-events.