Gospel Songfest Becomes Tribal Tradition Musicians, Spectators Will Gather At Spokane Tribal Powwow Grounds
Dozens of musicians, hundreds of spectators and a whole of lot of Christian music will grace the Spokane Tribal Powwow Grounds this weekend.
The annual Wellpinit Gospel Songfest has evolved into a cultural event that attracts performers and observers from across the Northwest and Canada.
The event - a cross between a powwow and revival minus the preaching - is in its ninth year.
“It’s really becoming an Indian tradition,” said Pepsi Walks-on-Top, event treasurer.
“Whenever I hear about another songfest, it’s within an Indian community.”
Members of three Christian churches on the Spokane Reservation provide meals to everyone who shows up, from Friday night to Sunday night.
The atmosphere is like a huge family reunion, said the Rev. Jake Morton, Catholic priest on the reservation.
People travel for hundreds of miles to camp on the powwow grounds. Often there are 400-500 people at each meal.
“It’s part of Indian hospitality,” Morton said. “You just don’t invite people out and not take care of them.”
The churches set up soda-pop concessions, with the money going to entertainers who travel the farthest, to cover their expenses, said Dick Arnoux, a deacon with the Catholic church.
The event is informal, Arnoux said.
Performers - there were 37 groups last year - sign up on a list as they arrive Friday night. Anyone is welcome to perform. The talent ranges from professional groups who have released their own compact discs to first-time performers.
The music starts somewhere between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday and goes until midnight or so.
“There’s no preaching whatsoever,” said Della Burgess, a member of Assembly of God Church. “That keeps things moving right along.”
On Saturday, things get rolling after breakfast, about 10 a.m.
“As the day gets toward the evening, things escalate,” Arnoux said. “And it won’t shut down until early Sunday morning.”
The music starts again Sunday after breakfast and winds down about dinner time, Arnoux said.
There is a short ecumenical service at 1 p.m.
Music styles include everything from country-western to “Amy Grant-type popular stuff,” Arnoux said.
Christianity is a big part of the lives of many people living on the Spokane reservation, Morton said.
The non-denominational event is a way for the community to step over theological barriers.
“Music seems to be a connecting link between lots of people,” he said.
“A lot of Indian performers start out playing in honky-tonks. Then they got older and more stable and wanted to continue their music. This is a good outlet for them.”
The Spokane Indian Tribal Grounds are just east of Wellpinit on the main road out of Ford.
, DataTimes