mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM — Dressed in feathered head ornaments, garments jingling with bells and regalia from different tribes, dozens of men and women stepped and stomped to drums and chants at a powwow on the N.C. School of Science and Math campus Saturday.
The 19th annual American Indian Powwow was hosted by Awke:kon, the American Indian Club at NCSSM, and brought together 200 participants from North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia who performed dances in traditional and modern garments from their respective tribes.
Keith Colston, master of ceremonies and a member of the Haliwa-Saponi tribe of North Carolina, said the powwow is an event that allows everyone to come together and visually express their cultures.
The powwow at NCSSM is noncompetitive but draws participants who compete up and down the East Coast.
“This allows dancers to have a kick off for the powwow circuit,” Colston said.
Nina Martinez, a Durham resident and graduate of NCSSM, came with her husband and 2-year-old daughter, Tehya, to dance at the event. Martinez used to compete at powwows and stopped when she had her daughter. This year, she said, she hopes to compete again.
Martinez, who comes from a multi-tribe background, with Cherokee, Haliwa-Saponi, Apache and Yaqui ancestry, danced in the Fancy Shawl style.
Fanning a light-blue shawl out around her, Martinez twirled and lightly stepped through the auditorium.
The style of dance came from a story of a woman who was saddened and wrapped a shawl around her body when her husband went away to war and did not return, Martinez explained.
When her husband finally returned, the woman opened the shawl, fanning it out like a butterfly.
Martinez, who was the president of Awke:kon when she was at NCSSM, said she became interested in the powwow because of what the music and dance symbolize. For instance, dancing requires that one of her feet must be on the ground at all times.
“The dancer is the medium between heaven and earth,” she said.
The powwow at NCSSM also featured various arts and crafts and food in the hallway outside the gym. Despite snow flurries falling outside, the event still drew a decent number of people.
NCSSM also hosted its Dreammakers program the day of the powwow. Now in its 10th year, Dreammakers provides students from 7th through 9th grades a chance to familiarize themselves with NCSSM academics and student life.
Students get the chance to meet with admissions representatives and participate in interactive learning presentations before the powwow.
Joe Liles, a retired art teacher at NCSSM who was the main organizer of the event, said Saturday was only the second time the event in its 19-year history had had snow.
“This time, there was more tension. Everybody was more nervous about it being clobbered,” he said.
Despite the flurries, the event still drew about 500 people, he said.
