Measured steps
2 0 1 8 A R L E E P OW WOW E SYA P Q E Y N I
Powwow history recalled, dance styles shared
FLATHEAD RESERVATION — For 121 years the rich sounds of summer powwows filtered through the summer air on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The jingle dress was said to sound like rain as the dancers circle around the powwow grounds with the echo of drum songs creating the heartbeat of each dance. The Arlee Powow Esyapqeyni (celebration) grounds will be silent again this year during the first week in July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other
J I N G L E D R E S S DA N C I N G
powwows on the reservation. The Arlee Powwow Celebration Committee decided to cancel the event both this year and last as it draws large crowds of people from all over the world. “We considered the health and safety of our community a priority along with our visiting and neighboring
communities,” the committee wrote. Committee leaders stated that the powwow will return in the future, but for now, a look toward the celebration’s history can help us imagine the rich sounds of a summer powwow. Willie Stevens, chairman of the Powwow Committee, has said that a
powwow was historically a time when Native American people came together during the summer months. “The people wouldn’t see each other all winter,” he said, adding that many Salish people lived in smaller family groups and would winter in one spot. It was a way for people to get together to catch up with extended family and friends. According to information compiled by Montana’s Indian Education for All committee, “dancing was one of the first aspects of Native American culture to come under criticism by missionaries and the federal government. In the 1880s, the federal government forbade most forms of dancing fearing that all dancing was a form of S EE PAG E 6 M O N TA N A S U M M E R
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