Lodge Pole's powwow returns after a year without

The Wasay Wakpa Wachi Powwow is returning to Lodge Pole Friday and Saturday after a year without it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wasay Wakpa Wachi Oshkaday Committee Member Don Racine said it will be a traditional, noncompetitive powwow for the Fort Belknap community and beyond.

“We keep things pretty simple, a lot of singing, a lot of dancing,” Racine said.

Grand entires for the powwow will be Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

He said events like this are a celebration of life and all that has happened since the last gathering, and added the lack of a powwow last year made a lot of people in the community sad.

“It really gave everybody a lonesome feeling,” he said.

Racine said he’s glad virtual powwows and dances were being held during that time, but it’s not the same as being there, and everyone he’s talked to is happy to come back after a year away.

“They’re excited to hear and feel that music again,” he said.

He said friends of his who normally sing or play drums in powwows have been practicing for a year, waiting for their opportunity to get back to doing what they love.

Racine said the event normally draws people from Rocky Boy, Browning and Fort Peck as well as a few people from Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the Flathead and Canada looking to visit friends and relatives but this year he can’t be sure how many people will be coming.

He said the powwow has a modest-sized space for the event but there’s never enough room, with families rows back often struggling to see, especially in the evenings.

Racine said there will be plenty of local food vendors as well as some folks selling art and crafts.

“The more the merrier,” he said.

He said the committee tries not to charge vendors too much and even a little bit of money can be a huge help to the committee.

He said there will certainly be some in Fort Belknap who will prefer the kind of powwow Northern Winz Hotel & Casino is putting on at the Great Northern Fair, but he suspects there are also some folks at Rocky Boy who may prefer a more noncompetitive powwow and he’ll be happy to see people having a good time whichever one they attend.

He said this incarnation of Lodge Pole’s powwow was started about a dozen years ago by the committee with the help of the community’s elders who provided their knowledge about powwow traditions and words of encouragement.

“We were trying to help our community any way we could,” he said.

Racine said this year’s powwow may see temperatures of around 100 degrees and asked that people be prepared for it, and that they social distance as best they can.

He asked that everyone who attends abide by the Fort Belknap Tribal Council’s rules regarding COVID-19 and has a good time.

He said everyone is welcome at the event, which he hopes will leave everyone going home happy.