Page 16 - September 2010 • Southern California Gaming Guide

September 2010 Tribes in the News
Keeping Culture Alive at Sycuan: 21st Annual Sycuan Pow-Wow
By Chamese Dempsey-La Chappa
Sycuan Indian Reservation is hosting their 21st Annual Pow-Wow and Traditional Gathering on September 10th, 11th and 12th. For the past two years the Sycuan Pow-Wow has been selected as a top ten pow-wow in North America by Native Peoples Magazine.
Sycuan continues to keep American Indian culture alive by bringing all tribes together to celebrate their heritage through song and dance. Native American singers, dancers and artisans travel from across the United States and Canada to share culture, customs and beliefs amongst one another, as well as preserve tradition for the youth.
Sycuan’s Pow-Wow brings a spiritual welcoming to all, a welcoming where you feel at home. It’s a place where you receive many blessings and can learn many things about the native culture. Sycuan’s Pow-Wow is open and free to the public. Everyone is invited to be a part of the ceremonial celebration and come together as one.
Sycuan’s Pow-Wow brings in over fty arts & crafts vendors with gorgeous handmade American Indian artifacts including beadwork,
sterling silver, turquoise, utes, drums, paintings and many other signi cant items. Sycuan’s Pow-Wow also provides a food court with several food vendors so you have the opportunity to enjoy fresh, homemade traditionalmeals.
When the drumming begins, the footsteps of the dancers connect with the heartbeat of our Mother Earth, thus creating a spiritual connection with the universe. e drumbeat holds such honor that it has a respect of its own and is cherished by all. e songs are then followed by the heartbeat of the drum
generations are shared by young and old while representing not only honor but pride. Each dance tells a story, and the story is as important to the dance as the footwork. All dancing, drumming and singing is not performed to satisfy an audience, but is a path of commitment, a way of life.
Sycuan’s Pow-Wow invites all to experience not only culture but an enduring way of life for everyone. Call 619-445-7776 for more pow-wow information or visit Sycuan.com.
Chamese Dempsey-La Chappa has helped coordinate the Sycuan Pow-Wow for 14 years. She is a member of the Paiute/Yaqui tribes of the Tejon Reservation through her grandfather, Philip Galvan, and Chippewa from her late grandfather, Wayne Dempsey.
WOhat is a Pow-Wow?
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE September 2010
T40th Annual Barona Powwow
he Barona Band of Mission Indians invites you to experience Native American culture at the 40th annual Barona Powwow on Friday, September 3rd from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
and Saturday and Sunday, September 4th and 5th, from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Since its inception in 1970, the tribal celebration has grown into a three-day event featuring more than 200 dancers with over 10,000 guests in attendance. During Labor Day weekend, Native Americans from across the country will showcase traditional tribal dances, singing and music, a hand drum contest, authentic Native American cuisine and exquisite handcrafted arts and jewelry. e festivities will take place at the Barona Baseball Field (just one mile north of the Barona Resort & Casino) on the Barona Indian Reservation, located at 1095 Barona Road in
Lakeside. Admission and parking are free. For more information, call 619-443-6612 or visit www.barona-nsn.gov.
riginally a pow-wow (also spelled powwow), or “celebration” as it was called in the old days, was held in the spring to welcome the new beginnings of life. It was a time for people to get together, sing, dance, renew old friendships and
make new ones, and a time for young people to meet and court. Pow-wow had religious signi cance as well. It was a time for families to hold naming and honoring ceremonies. e celebration was also a prayer to the one called Wakan Tanka—the Great Mystery or
Great Spirit in Lakota. Some trace the word “pow-wow” to the Algonquin language and say that the Europeans adopted it to refer to a council or meeting.
e circle is an important symbol to Indian cultures. At a pow-wow, the dancers are in the center of a circle, and the audience forms a larger circle around them. e pow-wow brings the circle of the people closer together to their community and their culture. Pow- wows today are still very much a part of the lives of modern Indian people.
Competitive singing and dancing for prize money is a fairly recent change in the traditional pow-wow. Only registered contestants can participate in the dancing contests, but everyone can take part when an “intertribal” dance is announced, visitors included. Because each of us has a place in the circle of people, there are no spectators at a pow-wow, everyone is a participant!
when the prayers begin to be expressed through song: songs that have been passed down for many generations.
While enjoying yourself at Sycuan’s Pow-Wow, you will receive blessings of being able to connect to the sacred lands, ful lling meals and uplifting beautiful songs. However, you will experience the dances like no other. e dance styles that are carried throughout
Southern California Tribes in the News