Pow wow celebrates life
By MAURICE O. NDOLE
Men and women danced to drum beats and chants as the Native American
pow wow celebration made a comeback to Fresno State this weekend for the
first time since 1999.
“Pow wow means celebration of life,” said Orie Medicinebull,
an organizer of the event.
Medicinebull, a representative of the American Indian Center of Central
California and a member of the Native American Mono tribe, said the event
aimed to teach people about various aspects of Native American culture.
Gabe Castro, Billy Bybee and first year social work master’s
student Larry Heredia drum and sing “Spirit Ground,”
a men’s traditional song. Photo by Emily Tuck |
She said the drumbeats symbolized the heartbeat and the dancers were supposed
to dance to the beats of the drums and stop immediately when the drumbeats
stopped.
The dancers, dressed in colorful garments decorated with eagle feathers,
danced in a circle on the grounds near the Satellite Student Union.
“We want to educate people about our culture,” Medicinebull
said.
Medicinebull said the event aimed at creating visibility of Native Americans
at Fresno State and encouraging the university to build a policy of reaching
out to Native Americans to join Fresno State.
The number of Native Americans at Fresno State has been on a steady decline
for several years.
According to Fresno State’s 2004 Institutional Research, Planning
and Assessment report on enrollment, the number of Native Americans declined
by 28 percent between 1997 and 2004, the highest decline among all races
represented at Fresno State.
Medicinebull said her organization was planning on having pow wows and
other similar events more often to reach out to Native Americans and increase
their enrollment at Fresno State.
“We aim to achieve visibility on campus,” Medicinebull said.
“We want avenues for our kids to go school here because there are
no programs to attract our kids.”
Grass dancer Stacy Prolkenhorn, a freshman at Sierra High School who plans
to attend Fresno State, said the dance was fun.
“I get to meet new people and dance to my culture,” Prolkenhorn
said.
Prolkenhorn said grass dancers bless the dancing arena by leveling the
grass with their feet.
More than 60 dancers participated in the event.
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