Powwow brings energy to the crowd

The annual Rocky Boy powwow kicked off with an energetic Grand Entry Friday.

Many people filled the stands around the circular grass arena to wait for the first Grand Entry, which was delayed over an hour due to rain.

The Grand Entry began with all the dancers participating in the event following a color guard made up of Native American veterans circling through the arena, showcasing their respective dancing styles.

Jamon Paskemin, of Sweetgrass, Saskatchewan, attended the powwow with his family and participated in the Grand Entry.

When asked what he thought was important about participating in the Grand Entry, Paskemin said, “To have a good time.”

“It’s also great to dance for your relatives who cannot,” Paskemin said.

The 432 registered dancers competed in a variety of styles, separated into men and women’s sections. Men had the option of competing in the traditional, grass, fancy or prairie chicken styles and women competed in the northern traditional buckskin, northern traditional cloth, jingle and fancy shawl dances.

The traditional Native American regalia varied from dance to dance. For example, men dancing in the prairie chicken category wore smaller bustles and often elaborate feather headdresses to resemble the American bird the dance is named after, while men dancing in the fancy feather style often wore large, multiple bustles and large headpieces with bright and energetic colors.

Judges graded the dancers based on their keeping rhythm, how many dance moves the dancers use in each song, how solidly they stop once the drumming stops, and other aspects.

Prizes given to the top dancers included cash prizes as high as $3,000, Pendleton jackets and quilts.

Drum groups from all over the U.S. and Canada attended and competed at the powwow.

Dustin Whitford, powwow coordinator and member of the Chippewa Cree Tribal Business Committee, said he had to turn down vendors this year due to the number of applicants.

Other events at the three-day powwow were a rodeo, golf tournament, sobriety walk and a Stick Game tournament.

Stick Game is a competitive traditional Native American game in which two teams, made up of two to five people, sit in a row facing the opposing team. A person from the “hiding” team holds four “bones” or “sticks” closed in his hands. Two of the “bones” have lines across them and the other two do not. The rest of his teammates play drums and sing traditional songs to distract the “guessing” team, which must correctly guess where the two lined “bones” are hidden.

The prize at Rocky Boy powwow's tournament was $8,000.

“This is going to be a great powwow,” Whitford said Friday. He said he expected a large turnout for the 2013 Annual Rocky Boy powwow.