Stewart Pow Wow honors fathers, heritage
Every year since 1981, tribal members from across the United States have gathered at the Stewart Indian School on Snyder Avenue in Carson City.
The Stewart Pow Wow has traditionally been a homecoming festival for alumni of the school, which closed in 1980 after ninety years of operation.
But beginning in 1990, the Pow Wow was moved permanently to Father's Day weekend.
"The fathers are very important to families," said Nevada Indian Commission Executive Director Sherry L. Rupert, who has coordinated the Pow Wow at the Stewart Facility since 2005. "And fathers are very important to the American Indian culture."
The Pow Wow is also a celebration of American Indian military service, Rupert said.
"Many fathers are veterans, and at our Pow Wow annually we honor them," she said. "The honor song is played by drum to honor all our fathers and our veterans."
But the Stewart Pow Wow is more than a celebration of school alumni, fathers and veterans, Rupert stressed. It's about the preservation of a cultural tradition and American Indian heritage.
"We're all about promoting the perpetuation of our culture," she said. "You have fathers, mothers, and grandparents all teaching their children about the importance of the Pow-Wow. It's about being together and sharing our culture."
Rupert said the Pow Wow features both competitive and traditional tribal dances. Some are more integrated, while others are divided by age and gender categories. From small children through adult, tribal dancers of all ability levels are encouraged to participate.
"We have a variety of traditional dances," Rupert said. "Pow Wows are less traditional. They are bright and flashy, to attract the attention of the judges. Our Pow Wow is a competition, from men and women, to children."
The traditional pow wow is not a competition, Rupert said, it's a gathering.
"It's a gathering of our people to come together and celebrate," she said.
Besides being competition-focused, the Stewart Pow Wow is also different from other tribal pow wows because it is held on lush outdoor grounds.
Rupert said most pow wows are performed indoors. Those that are held outdoors are done so amidst dirt and dust, she said, which is not conducive to the intricate and ornate costuming of the dancers.
That makes the Stewart Indian School facility an attractive venue for a pow wow, Rupert said.
"This is a very unique place, and people love to come out here," she said.
Furthermore, the Stewart Father's Day Pow Wow is very inclusive, inviting numerous tribes and welcoming non-tribal visitors to come and join in the fun.
"The Pow Wow is intertribal," Rupert said. "Any tribe can come. Ours is open to the public as well."
The three-day celebration draws hundreds to thousands over Father's Day weekend. The quad at the Stewart Indian School is packed with vendor and tribal tents encircling the competition field where the dances are held.
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