Photos by Steve Wilkowske
Pow Wow offers Indian folklore
Barbara Dikty
iff Writer
The scene was Clackamas Com-
inity College's campus. Outside,
ely-grey clouds hung low and threw
winter chill in the air. Except for
ocassional figure scurrying by, the
npus seemed deserted. It was shivery
Id so I hurried over to Randall Hall
lere the ASG and Ouy Ka' Lah-spon-
red Pow Wow was supposed to be
Id.
Inside Randall Hall the mood ab
camas Community College
ruptly changed. Hordes of gaudily-
dressed people were wandering around
laughing and stopping to talk. Their
clothes were a blaze of color; they
looked like rainbows out for a stroll.
From the concession stand nearby
drifted the hunger-producing smell of
venison stew. I was going over to buy
some, but before 1 made it to the
counter I was distracted by the sight
of a man dressed mainly in a cloud of
orange feathers and a bit of buckskin.
Seeing me stare he grinned, "Cool
outfit, no?" and then headed for the
gymnasium.
The gym was where the main actionJ
was going on. In the middle of the'
gym about 20 people were doing a
sort of stamp-shuffle-stamp-shuffle tq.
the beat of an amplified drum poiinded
by four men. The drumming was so
loud that you could almost see the
sound waves vibrating in the air.
The dancers came in all sekes and
ages -- from a sedate mother-type in
a dark blue dress, to a baby boy of
about three, wearing a diaper, a yel
low embroidered shirt, a beaded head-
band and a very confused expression.
The favorite part of any costume
seemed to involve feathers. One man
wore a blue and green feathered head-
dress that towered about two feet
above his head. Another wore a red,
yellow and green feather bustle, which
looked like, and was about the size of,
a small archery target on his back.
One small boy kept vanishing into a
mass of orange and brown feathers
whenever he stamped his foot.
Aside from the food and dancing
there were tables circling the gym
selling all types of crafts and gew
gaws. I had the choice of buying
either a very well done pen and ink
sketch of an Indian Chief or a red,
white and blue bumper sticker read
ing, "Support Indians -- Attend a Pow
Wow Today." Since I was broke, I
bought the bumper sticker.
Further along there were moccas-
sins and six tables of turquoise and
silver jewelry. Enough styles for any-
body's taste. If my taste in music
hadn't run toward bluegrass ballads, I
could have bought cassette tapes con
taining 12 Cheyenne Indian songs, 12
Blackfoot Indian songs, 12 Hopi In-
qian songs . . . Enough, it was time
to go home.
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