After 38 years, CSULB's annual Pow Wow still going strong

The 38th annual Cal State Long Beach Pow Wow took over Upper Campus this past weekend, with intertribal dancing, American Indian delicacies, dozens of vendors selling indigenous arts and crafts, and a series of non-profit Native American information booths - all in a celebration of Native American culture and customs.

Hundreds dined on mutton, beef stew and Navajo tacos - a simple recipe with fresh ingredients such as diced tomato, shredded lettuce, ground beef, beans and the signature ingredient, fry bread.

Walking through the aisles of vendors, pungent whiffs of sage swept the air while steady drum beats and piercing voices pounded throughout most of the day and night.

However, the heart of any Pow Wow is found in the arena, a designated circle for performers.

"The arena is culturally symbolic and significant as it represents life," said part-time film and electronic arts department professor Larry Smith, who is from the Lumbee nation out of North Carolina. "No matter which first nation you come from, every one has a place in the circle and comes together as one."

At this year's opening ceremonies, young, old, brown, white and black-skinned Native American dancers all aligned, adorned head to toe in colorful detailed regalia, to commence the festivities. From neon brights to a black velvet dress with swirls of glitter to one young Native American girl - whose outfit was covered in what looked like Jack Skellington faces from the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas" - the regalia was eclectic. It balanced modern fabrics with traditional symbolism.

"It's not a show," said Craig Stone, a lead Pow Wow organizer and an interdisciplinary American Indian studies and art department professor. "We're taking care of cultural business, but everyone is welcome to take part in this celebration, which has grown out of our history."

Stone has taught at CSULB since the 1980s, with a focus on Pow Wow culture, and currently teaches American Indian Studies 420 - a class that has been formally connected to the Pow Wow celebration for the past 16 years. Stone said that his genealogy includes 13 different ancestral lineages. They include three Native American backgrounds as well.

CSULB's annual Pow Wow is the largest university Pow Wow and largest spring event of its kind. It also marks the first university Pow Wow of the season.

According Anna Nazarian-Peters, the American Indian Student Council's Student Life & Development adviser, CSULB's Pow Wow is one of the largest and longest running student events on campus. She said that CSULB's American Indian self-identified student population is around 240.

In addition to the Native Americans and other local community members, there are some attendees who travel across the country to take part in the annual event, which include many CSULB alumni.

Some of the prestige for CSULB's Pow Wow comes from the American Indian Student Council's careful selection of the Pow Wow's head staff. The head staff is comprised of paid professionals, and this year many of the people selected are nationally known within the Native American community.

This year's staff included John Dawson as master of ceremonies, his daughter Cindy Dawson as head lady dancer, and Lewis Perkins as head man dancer.

Referring to this year's head staff, Stone said, "We really are about honoring these families who have been with us from the start and who have been able to maintain their cultural and tribal identities in an urban setting."

He also noted that unlike the more exclusive tribal Pow Wows that take place on reservations, this inter-tribal convergence is significant because participants from various first nations get to "share their songs."

Smith said that vendors play a large role in the revenue that funds CSULB's Pow Wow.

"Money from the vendors is what really pays for the Pow Wow and head staff," said Smith. "If we couldn't charge for vendors, the Pow Wow would be half the size [it is now]."

Another form of funding is gathered from the Pow Wow's annual event T-shirt sales. This year, due to miscommunications with the printer, there were actually no 38th annual CSULB Pow Wow T-shirts.

However the artist himself, Art Neri, stressed that this small loss in funds and marketing was relatively insignificant.

"This is so minor compared to the real thing," he said, also stating that the shirts are important in terms of advertising that this Pow Wow is a student-run event.

No one in the staff for Pow Wow let it get them down. Instead, they stayed focused.

Even the day before the event, immediately after the T-shirt mix-up, Stone said regarding his stress level, "We've done it for a real long time, so we function pretty well ... very well."

The Pow Wow was presented by CSULB's American Indian Studies Department, the American Indian Student Council, the Native American Alumni and Friends Chapter, Student Services, 49er Shops, Student Life & Development and Associated Students, Inc.