Dancing, drumming fill Riverfront Park during Gathering at the Falls Powwow

The singing rose and fell as drums pounded and bells jingled at Saturday’s Grand Entry at the 26th annual Gathering at the Falls Powwow in Riverfront Park.

Native American tribes from all over the country put on their finest regalia to dance in the Lilac Bowl, a site of historical significance for local tribes.

Just before the grand entry began, Madeline Arredondo was giving last-minute dance step instructions to her 8-year-old daughter, Jasmine Phoenix, who was named Little Miss Spirit of the Eagle at Eastern Washington University’s Spirit of the Eagle Powwow.

Arredondo, who descended from the Northern Paiute and Klamath tribes, used to dance at powwows before her daughter was born.

“Now I can’t bounce as much,” she said. “Now I teach my daughter the footwork, the steps, the protocol.”

The draw of the powwow for her is being around her own people. “We may be from different tribes, but we have the same heart,” she said. “We basically are family.”

Passing down her knowledge to her daughter means a lot, Arredondo said. “It’s pretty powerful to me,” she said. “I’m passing down to her what my ancestors passed down. It hasn’t changed. It’s still the same tradition.”

After the flurry of color and sound of the grand entry came the inter-tribal dance, during which people who gathered to watch were invited to try it themselves. Several people did, including Geneva Orovic. She said she does the inter-tribal dances all the time because she’s not a registered member of any tribe, though her ancestors were from the Arapaho and Shoshone tribes.

She kept step with the dancers in regalia who had come to compete in various competitions during the day.

“I’ve been coming a long time,” she said. “I always come for my birthday. I treat myself.”

Many people pray as they dance, she said, sometimes for their family or their friends or the people who come to watch them.

“It’s very spiritual,” she said. “We are all family. Even though we are not related, we are all brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles.”

Michelle Lloyd and Kyle Staat were in Spokane vacationing with an enormous Canary mastiff named Basil Bartholomew. The dog sat silently, begging for a bit of ice cream cone as the couple watched the dancers.

Lloyd said she grew up in Montana not far from the Flathead Reservation. “I grew up going to powwows and sweat lodges,” she said.

She heard about the powwow in Riverfront Park and knew they had to go.

“It’s amazing,” she said as the sound of drumming and singing filled the air. “This is a beautiful venue for it.”