At first, it may sound weird that going to a powwow is on my #25before25 list. So when I tell you that my family is part of Citizen Potawatomi Nation, it should make some more sense.
The Potawatomi are originally from the Great Lakes region. In fact, they were the first people to settle in what’s now Chicago before the U.S. government forced them out so the city could be established. Currently, there are nine bands of Potawatomi scattered throughout the Great Lakes region (even into Canada), and the central plains. The Citizen Potawatomi band ended up just outside of Shawnee, Okla., which is just east of the OKC metro.
Every year, one of the nine bands hosts all of the other bands in the Gathering of Nations. This year was our nation’s year to host, and a couple thousand Potawatomi joined us in Oklahoma.
Now this was a true 21st century powwow — most of the formal events took place inside an air-conditioned arena, because the weather didn’t cooperate for us to use the outdoor set-up. Each night, all of the tribal leaders would march into the arena to the sound of traditional drumming. There were competitive and non-competitive powwow dances, special recognitions and singings of the Potawatomi “national anthem.”
In addition to the nightly ceremonies, the powwow was full of events like traditional Potawatomi hand games tournaments, tours of our eagle aviary, which is one of just a few in the nation, language classes, free breakfast, lunch and dinner, other games/tournaments and a 5K — which I was proud of my mom, dad and brother for doing with me.
Not many people get the opportunity to see their ancestry and heritage like this, so it was a cool experience to have. It’s also piqued my interest to learn more about the Potawatomi heritage, and I’m excited to be participating in a traditional naming ceremony later this year with my family, where we will all be given our traditional Potawatomi names.
Thanks for reading, and bama pi (until later).
Scroll through some of CPN’s photos below:
Tanner Ward 