Step in time

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Beating drums and Native American songs were heard throughout Rose Arena this weekend at the 20th annual Central Michigan University powwow.

For East Lansing senior Calvin Hissong, the event came as a surprise because being a first time attendee, he did not really know what to expect.

“It’s exciting because it’s just so loud and you can tell everybody’s into it,” he said. “There is a true cultural background to it.”

Hissong attended the gathering as part of a weekend class that meets in Rose Arena. He said his professor thought it would be a good idea to attend the powwow to gain a better understanding of Native American culture.

“I never imagined it being this intense. It’s very flashy and there’s so much culture,” Hissong said. “You can see an 80-year-old dancing out there and then there’s a 5-year-old dancing right behind them.”

Mount Pleasant resident James Pitawanakwat participated in the powwow and sees the gathering as a time to celebrate with friends and family.

“It’s a social event where we can come together and express our pride and culture,” he said.

Pitawanakwat has participated in many powwows and attends the event in Mount Pleasant with his family members.

He is part of the Wikiwemikong Tribe, located on the other side of Lake Huron on Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada.

The event boasted several vendors selling Native American clothing, jewelry and artwork. Ruth Ann Motley runs Ruth Ann’s Southwest Treasures, a company out of Illinois, which sells hand crafted Native American jewelry.

“Around 90 percent of our business comes from powwows and we got in here a couple of years ago and it just worked out again this year,” Motley said.

Holt senior Sarah Smith attended the event with Hissong and was excited to see all the colorful garments the dancers wore and thought that it was a nice complement to the event.

“They’re all so unique,” Smith said. “The clothing is very colorful and it’s really cool because they’re all unique in their own way.”

Smith was glad to attend the event this year because as a senior, this was her last chance to make it to the event.

“It’s definitely something that I wish I would have been attending for the last three years,” Smith said.

metro@cm-life.com