Powwow to ask for donations

Admission to the Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment and Powwow later this month will still be free. The downtown event’s just looking for a few more friends with funds.

In years past, local and Indian governments, businesses and large companies were the main contributors. This year for the first time, powwow organizers are reaching out to the community at large.

“If they contribute, they’ll feel more a part,” said Bonnie Joseph, president of the powwow committee.

Organizers of the annual Spokane powwow at Riverfront Park, held Aug. 26 through Aug. 28, will start posting fliers around town next week. While the well-known event draws American Indian dancers and drummers from around the country, Joseph has been concerned by what she’s heard from non-Indian friends and neighbors.

“There’s a belief, from people that I’ve talked to, they didn’t know they could come. They had no idea they could come,” said Bonnie Joseph, who leads the organizing committee. “I’d like for the community to feel like the powwow is open to them. We want them to come and ask questions. We want them to come and enjoy themselves.”

A past president said it would take about $50,000 to do a good job of putting on the three-day event, according to Spokesman-Review articles. Joseph raised $39,000 last year as a first-time organizer. In years past, she said, the event was pulled off with bare-bones budgets as low as $10,000.

The largest cost goes to purses paid to competitive dancers and singing groups. Powwow dancers often call ahead to see which events offer the best prizes before deciding where to go.

The annual event started in 1989, after Mayor Sheri Barnard asked local tribes and the American Indian Community Center to host a powwow in Riverfront Park. It has survived several challenges.

In 1990, Spokane police repeatedly closed the ceremonial stick games during the powwow. The downtown powwow no longer has a stick game, but a tournament is now held that weekend at the Kalispel Indian Northern Quest Casino. A free shuttle takes people back and forth.

The biggest trouble came in 1998 when powwow organizers announced the event was canceled due to conflicts with officials from the city, and parks and recreation department. The conflicts were later called in newspaper articles “misunderstandings,” and the powwow that year drew record crowds.

Before Joseph took over the powwow last year, the Spokane Indian Tribe took over the event for one year. Now Joseph, a Salish and Kootenai from Montana, is bringing the powwow to the people.

“I think the non-Indian community is just waiting for a welcome,” Joseph said.