8
S moke S ignals
september 1, 2014
201 Contest Powwow d
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
efore the fi rst Grand Entry
for this year’s annual Grand
Ronde Contest Powwow,
Foster Care recruiter Amanda
Mercier staffed the Children and
Family Services booth on the north
side of the big tent.
Mercier did double duty, howev-
er, also helping her 9-year-old son,
Mason, with the fi nishing touches
as he dressed in his regalia for the
upcoming grand entries and fancy
dances.
The Contest Powwow, held Fri-
day through Sunday, Aug. 15-17,
at U y x a t Powwow Grounds off
Hebo Road continued to live up to
its reputation as being one of the
largest gatherings in the Pacific
Northwest. This year, the powwow
drew 261 registered dancers and
overfl ow crowds to watch beneath
the big tent.
Dancers, depending on age group,
competed for fi rst-place prizes val-
ued from $150 to $1,000 in 20 dance
categories. Grand Ronde dancers
won fi ve prizes in all.
Booths for Tribal police, hous-
ing, Fish and Wildlife and many
other programs, not all of them
from the Grand Ronde Tribe, were
set up outside the tent with bro-
chures stacked neatly. People who
staffed the booths chatted among
themselves, waiting
for the first Grand
Entry at the start of
the weekend. They
provided information
and answered ques-
tions for the powwow
crowd.
Among them was
Robert Upham, di-
rector of Blue Pony
Lacrosse, a subsid-
iary of the Survival
of American Indians
Association. Started
in 1995, the associa-
tion promotes lacrosse
as a sport that offers
health and resilience to Tribal
youth, as well as creating greater
opportunities in sports, art, media
and education. It also has been suc-
cessful, said Upham, for “solving
differences.”
The program now reaches 2,500
youth in Native American com-
munities. It has provided more
than 1,300 volunteer service hours
and handed out more than 1,500
lacrosse sticks and equipment.
In addition to the service booths,
the powwow attracted 15 food ven-
dors and 51 craft vendors.
Then, it was an amazing start to
this 2014 Contest Powwow. Grand
Entry on Friday night, scheduled
for 7 p.m. as always, saw nearly
nobody lined up at the west end of
the big tent where Tribal leaders,
Royalty and dancers from all over
usually congregate.
The opening was pushed back
B
The newly crowned 201-15 Grand Ronde
Royalty Queens, from left, Little Miss Grand
Ronde Isabelle Grout, Junior Miss Grand Ronde
Iyana Holmes and Senior Miss Grand Ronde
Promise Rimer take their fi rst dance after being
crowned at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Friday,
Aug. 15.
From left, Merit Leht-Smith, vice president of the European Language Equality
Network in Estonia, her husband Matthew Smith and Andres Vares, also with
ELEN, walk with Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, Tribal Land and Culture Department
manager, during Grand Entry of the 201 Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
Contest Powwow held at Uyxat Powwow Grounds on Saturday, Aug. 16.
a half-hour owing, said Powwow
Master of Ceremonies Edmund
Nevaquaya, to traffi c jams on the
roads leading from Portland.
At 7:25, still just a scattering
waited in line. At 7:30, Tribal lead-
ers, Royalty and dancers came in
with gaps between groups. Dancers
kept coming though, and before
they were done dancers closed the
gaps and fi lled the grounds beyond
bursting. It may have been the larg-
est Grand Entry ever for a Friday
evening.
“How much better can you get for
a Friday night?” said Tribal Council
Chairman Reyn Leno. “We’re going
to have to get a bigger tent.”
Dance specials during the pow-
wow included Women’s Traditional
and Men’s Round Bustle. The Edu-
cation Committee and Education
Department sponsored another
special. For boys and girls under
Koosah Quenelle competes in the Boys Grass dance category during the 201
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Contest Powwow held at Uyxat Powwow
Grounds on Saturday, Aug. 16. He placed third in the category.
18, the dance served “to remind our
children that school is cool,” said
Committee Chair Tammy Cook.
“Our youth education program
has a vision of providing a safe,
healthy and educational environ-
ment that values young people.
We help build Native youth into
positive role models and leaders of
our future,” Cook said.