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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Celebrate Harvest Of Life At Pow Wow

FROM FOR THE RECORD (Friday, August 23, 1996): George Flett designed artwork for stamp cachets honoring Indian dancers; the cachets will be on sale in Riverfront Park Saturday during the Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment and Pow Wow. Keith Songbird designed a commemorative stamp series. A story in Thursday’s IN Life section wrongly the stamp artist.

To most people, the notion of old Spokane means a downtown dominated by railroad tracks, trestles and steam engines.

But to Native Americans, old Spokane suggests a different era and feel altogether. It speaks of a surging falls, thousands of salmon and various members of the Spokane Tribe coming together for their annual task of stockpiling food for the winter.

That gathering, of course, was more than a mere task. It was a means of reconnecting with distant family groups, of renewing friendships and of simply celebrating the harvest of life.

And it is in that spirit that the Seventh Annual Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment and Pow Wow will begin its three-day run Friday at and around Riverfront Park.

“They would meet there, the different tribes, years ago when they went fishing,” says Gloria Probst, vice-chair of the American Indian Community Center and chair of the encampment committee. Probst says that the Spokane event, which began with the help and encouragement of former Mayor Sheri Barnard, is an ideal way for observers “to see what a pow wow is.”

What they’re likely to see is hundreds of Indian families from all over the United States and Canada gathering to celebrate their heritage. Counting both observers and participants, Probst estimates that between 15,000 and 20,000 attended the 1995 pow wow.

And this year there will be a special emphasis: the honoring of children and the hope they hold as keepers of the native culture.

As in past years, too, the pow wow will include intertribal competition dancing, specifically in the categories of Prairie Chicken Round-bustle (5:30-7 p.m. Friday at Cavanaugh’s Inn at the Park), traditional and fancy-dance (beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at the Lilac Bowl).

A number of vendors will be on hand in the park all three days beginning at 10 a.m. to sell food, Indian crafts and various artworks, and an art auction will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday at the Inn at the Park. On Saturday, the U.S. Postal Service will have cachets of a new stamp series for sale. Drawn by Wellpinit artist George Flett, the commemorative stamps portray Indian dancers.

What’s most fitting, however, is that each day’s festivities will be highlighted by a grand entry of the participating tribes, marching from Cavanaugh’s to the Lilac Bowl, past an area that has witnessed so much of the history that is Spokane. The entries will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

“A pow wow is where you meet people and talk,” Probst says. “It’s like a visiting.”

And a recalling.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Pow Wow The Seventh Annual Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment and Pow Wow will be Friday from 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. at Riverfront Park.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Pow Wow The Seventh Annual Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment and Pow Wow will be Friday from 10 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. at Riverfront Park.