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24th annual Pow Wow celebrates Native American heritage, customs

About 11,000 people from across the nation gathered to stomp their feet to the rhythm of the drums and to experience Native American culture at Crisler Arena this weekend. Wearing traditional regalia, men, women and children of all ages celebrated the coming of spring at the 24th annual Ann Arbor "Dance for Mother Earth" Pow Wow.

"The Ann Arbor Pow Wow is to celebrate the coming of spring through the joy of dancing," said Jodi Cook, an LSA sophomore. "People come from all across the U.S. and Canada."

Eina Hindlsey and her family drove for 12 hours from Orlando, Wis., to participate in this weekend's activities.

"(The Pow Wow) is seeing old friends and people we haven't seen in a long time," Hindlsey said. "It's kinda like one big family getting together."

The Ann Arbor community held its first Pow Wow in 1972. Since then, the popularity and the number of activities have increased -- so much that the Pow Wow had to be moved to Crisler Arena.

Each day of the three-day Pow Wow began with a Grand Entry dance, followed by a flag and victory song. The flag song, which is analogous to the national anthem, honors ancestors who have defended and fought for Native Americans in past wars.

"I came here to dance in the circle ... to dance with our ancestors," said Tom Netz of Toledo, Ohio. "That's the circle of life inside the arena."

In addition to dancing and music, booths filled with Native American crafts, such as dream catchers and bead jewelry lined the inside of Crisler Arena.

One booth, sponsored by the American Indian Health and Family Services, disseminated information about health care for Native Americans.

"We use Pow Wows as a way to get health information to Native Americans," said Jane Vass, a nurse at the health center. "It's hard to get health care to the Native society because they don't trust non-Native society."

The health care center, located in southwest Detroit, serves the Native American population in the tri-county area of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties -- which Vass said has the largest Native American population in the state.

Adrienne Brant James, president of the Indian World organization, distributed information about the North American Indian community of metropolitan Detroit.

"The biggest thing (Indian World) is trying to do is work on bridging the gap between dominant society and Native society," James said. "We try to help people recognize what the contradictions between values of two societies are."

Making reference to broken treaties, such as the Indian Tuition Waiver, James said one of the biggest problems that Native Americans continue to face is the "attempts of the dominant society to annihilate us."

"The biggest challenge is to be who we are and to live the way we feel is the right way -- which is to live with Mother Earth and to respect her," she said. "Everything has meaning, everything deserves respect."