Keeping Native American traditions in the spotlight

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- The aroma of fry bread, tacos and mutton stew wafted

across the Orange County Fairgrounds, mingling at some point with the

sound of beating drums and jingling tin cones.

But for thousands of people who watched and participated in the 33rd

annual Pow Wow, the experience transcended the music, food and ambience.

The event, organized every year by the Fountain Valley-based Southern

California Indian Center Inc., is a great opportunity both for Native

Americans and others, said executive director Paula Starr.

“For the Native American community, it is an opportunity to socialize,

to pass on our knowledge to future generations,” she said. “For the

others, it’s an opportunity to learn about another culture, a chance to

learn and dispel myths and misconceptions about our people and culture.”

Essentially, a pow wow is a celebration and social gathering, honoring

sacred American Indian traditions through dancing, drumming, singing and

the gathering of people. Pow wows may also be held to honor individuals

or on special occasions.

Starr said it is important to let people know that being a Native

American is not just about “leather and feathers.”

“It’s important that our own children know and learn why we do the

things we do,” she said. “Why we dance and sing a certain way.”

For Native Americans, a pow wow is a way to feel a sense of belonging,

said Victoria Sebanz, a school teacher from Los Angeles and a descendant

of the Menominee and Lakota tribes.

“It’s one of the only times I feel at home,” she said. “It’s great to

be here and hear live music and watch the Fancy [War] Dance. It’s so

powerful.”

As a teacher, Sebanz says she has seen a lot of misinformation about

Native Americans.

“The most common misconception is that we’re all dead,” she said.

“It’s really sad and unfortunate.”

Cecilia Gibson of Glendora, who came with her husband Davy and two

children, said this was a time to teach her 4-year-old son about his

Indian heritage. Her grandmother, said Gibson, was of Native American

descent.

“Listen to that song they’re singing right now?” she told her son.

“They’re singing about grandparents.”

Several people sat on the bleachers Saturday morning and watched the

members of the Golden State Gourd Dance Society perform the Gourd Dance,

a spiritual ceremony performed by the Kiowa tribe each summer when the

red skunk berries were in bloom.

For the non-Native Americans who came to the pow wow, it was a time to

“experience something different,” said Jim Erlitz, a Hacienda Heights

resident.

“Everything’s so fast-paced these days that you get away from the

things that matter,” he said. “You forget what America is really about.”

Erlitz said he believed that these are the types of events that bring

people together and helps build tolerance and understanding.

“It brings us closer,” he said, “and helps us experience a culture

other than our own.”

FYI

What: 33rd annual Pow Wow

When: 9 a.m. to past noon today

Where: Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for children under 5

Call: (714) 962-6673