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SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
2015 C ontest P owwow
— S moke S ignals
'This is what we do'
POWWOW continued
from page 3
ing. He was the rock for our family.
I loved him. I think my grandpa is
smiling down on us.”
As many as 25 members of Laf-
ferty’s family participated in the
traditional giveaway with the
youngest members handling the
passing out of gifts.
Bad Soul got things started again
for the contest at about 2:30 p.m. Host
drum Bad Soul consists of Leland
Butler, Washie Squitimkin, Carlos
McNair, Dustin Harmon, Robin Uses
Arrow, Bo Johnson, Sunny Doeny,
James Smith, Jeremy Russell and
William and San Poil Whitehead, who
represent many Tribes.
A total of 237 dancers registered
for the Contest Powwow this year
and an estimated 300 dancers
filled the arena during Saturday’s
interTribal dances. Dancers in 21
categories, including the winner-
takes-all mother/daughter spe-
cial, competed for approximately
$35,000 in prize money.
Five Grand Ronde Tribal mem-
bers placed in the dance categories,
including two dancers in the Junior
Girls Jingle dance category. Kaleigha
Simi finished fourth and Aleena
Westley finished in fifth place.
Tribal youth Nacoma Liebelt
finished fourth in the Junior Boys
Traditional category, Marcel Allen
finished third in the Teen Boys
Grass dance competition and Leah
Villa finished third in the Womens
Traditional dance category.
“I think it definitely answered
the question of the arena being
big enough,” said Leno. “We could
have done a couple more circles at
grand entry.”
Leno said the Contest Powwow
ran out of parking and that the
visually striking new arbor added
to this year’s attraction. Powwow
T-shirts sold out by 2 p.m. Saturday.
“It showed how serious we take
our gatherings,” said Leno. “Over-
all, it was great to see that many
people come together and work
together. It really showed people
we are here for the right reasons.
I think our ancestors who passed
away would be looking down on this
as a great representation.
“It (the arbor) represents the
strength of the Tribe. Now we have
built something that will probably
be here forever. My dad would have
said, ‘This is what we do.’ ”
This year’s drum competition
featured $20,000 in prize money,
including $8,000 for first place,
$5,000 for second place and $3,000
for third place. Blackstone won the
competition, Iron Horse finished
second and Wild Rose finished third.
Many powwow attendees had
first-time experiences that they
said they would remember forever.
Tribal member Rhonda Leno, So-
cial Services Department secretary,
said this year’s powwow was her fa-
vorite. She said it was the first time
her granddaughter, Grace Ness,
danced on the powwow grounds in
Photos by Michelle Alaimo
Above, Memory Leno jingle dances
in an InterTribal dance during
the 2015 Confederated Tribes of
Grand Ronde Contest Powwow
on Saturday, Aug. 15. On the left
dancing is Laila Holmes.
Halona Butler dances in
Grand Entry of the 2015
Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde Contest Powwow on
Friday, Aug. 14.
regalia that she had made for her.
“She was really enjoying the danc-
ing,” said Rhonda. “I have to say this
was one of my favorite powwows. I
think my granddaughter had a lot to
do with that. She’s just starting out.
She’s just 20 months old. There was a
real sense of joy. It was great. I hope
next year’s powwow brings the same
sort of energy. Powwow is family and
that is what it means to me.”
New to the area and attending
their first powwow were Rob Shad-
er and his wife, Maggie. Shader
is the new varsity head football
coach at Willamina High School,
where he will teach world history,
and Maggie is the new cheerleader
coach at Willamina Middle School,
where she will teach social studies.
“My wife and I had a great time
experiencing a different culture,”
said Shader. “We both teach history
and culture is a big part of our cur-
riculum. Having 33 percent Native
students in our classrooms, it was
fun to experience what they have
grown up with.”
Spirit Mountain Casino security
guard Roel Hernandez brought his
mother, Virginia Hernandez, from
Lubbock, Texas, for this year’s
event and she soaked it all in from
the bleachers.
“It’s beautiful,” said Virginia.
“I haven’t seen anything like this
before.”
Ashlee Webb had her husband
Ryan’s family visiting from En-
gland to experience the powwow.
Ryan’s brothers, Phillip and Victor
and Victor’s wife Ann-Marie experi-
enced the Tribal event for the first
time and they all loved it.
Phillip lives with his mother and
father in Gloucester, England, and
Victor and Ann-Marie currently
live in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
“It’s nice to see the culture, espe-
cially being from England you’re
not exposed to the Tribal experi-
ence,” said Ann-Marie. “It’s nice to
be a part of it and it’s nice to get a
really warm welcome.”
Ryan’s mother, Diane, was im-
pressed with the young dancers she
saw in the arena.
“I think it’s nice to see the tradi-
tion kept alive, isn’t it? The regalia
is amazing. It is good to see the next
generation. They were really good
dancers, I mean really good.”
Ann-Marie said she liked Grand
Ronde Tribal Elder Claudia Leno’s
Indian tacos.
“Brilliant,” she said with a big
smile. n
Editor’s note: Ashlee Webb is
reporter Brent Merrill’s daughter.