Polk County
Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 19, 2015 7A
Sharing tradition
Grand Ronde Contest Powwow passes culture through generations
PHOTOS BY LUKAS EGGEN/Itemizer-Observer
The Grand Ronde Contest Powwow attracted more than 260 Native dancers.
Contest Powwow royalty enters during the Grand Entry on Saturday afternoon.
By Lukas Eggen
The Itemizer-Observer
Stan Greene (left) and Dakota Upshaw (right) take part in a dance during the Grand Ronde Contest Powwow on Saturday afternoon.
Irvin Waskewitch competes in the Golden Age Men cat-
egory of the Contest Powwow on Saturday.
Native American dancers enter during the Grand Entry
on Saturday afternoon.
GRAND RONDE — Charles Tail-
Feathers knows he can’t get caught
up in the moment.
As head judge at Grand
Ronde’s Contest Powwow, held
on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,
TailFeathers was tasked with en-
suring all the judges were ready
and prepared to grade more than
260 dancers.
“You have to see the rhythm of
the dancers,” TailFeathers said.
“It’s like watching the Olympics.
You have to practice it in order
to understand all the qualities of
the dancers. You have to know
the songs and see whether they
are starting and stopping on
time and the rhythm of their
movements.”
TailFeathers said he has been a
judge off and on for 69 years — ex-
perience that is instrumental to
being a good judge.
“The key is experience,” Tail-
Feathers said. “You have to travel
the country and see what’s going
on over there.”
The Contest Powwow attracted
participants from around the coun-
try, including Oregon, Washington,
Nevada and Idaho.
Leah Villa, who took part in
the women’s traditional, age 18-
49 category, has been dancing in
the powwow since she was a
baby. As she’s grown up and trav-
eled away from her home in
Grand Ronde, the powwow re-
mains something she looks for-
ward to each year.
“It’s good to see all the different
people and cultures come together
to celebrate as one,” Villa said.
“There’s a lot of joy seeing everyone
come together.”
As the Grand Ronde Contest
Powwow brought together Native
American dancers from a variety of
tribes, TailFeathers said that taking
part is something that is uniquely
special, no matter how many years
you’ve done it.
“It’s different when you dance,”
TailFeathers said. “The song is a
part of you. When you dance,
you’re one with the rhythm, no
matter what the song is.”
Patty Young Running Crane dances during the Golden
Age Women category on Saturday afternoon.