On a sunny Friday afternoon in early April, the 51st Annual University of Utah Pow Wow began in the Unity Lounge of the A. Ray Olpin Union. Committee members, student leaders, and volunteers met with the American Indian Resource Center’s (AIRC) Elder-in-Residence, Nino Reyos of the Ute and Laguna Pueblo Tribal Nations. Reyos conducted a cultural blessing for a safe and joyous event and soon after, dancers and community members began to make their way into the space, quickly filling it with colorful regalia, drums, and cultural arts and crafts that lined the walkways of the ballroom.
At 6 p.m., the first grand entry took place with the Utah Inter-tribal Color Guard, led by United States Air Force Veteran, Arnold Lano, who would lead the parade of dancers into the dance arena. Master of Ceremonies, Taylor ‘Cheii’ Begay, a Navajo Social Media Personality, announced each dance group as they made their way onto the dance floor while Arena Director, George Abeyta, directed dancers from the dance line onto the floor. As the dancers entered the circle, the host drum, Southern Style, from Red Mesa, Utah provided the first songs and their loud voices and thunderous percussion filled the Union Ballroom. Head woman dancer, Anisha Marion, a PhD student at the U danced the jingle dress dance, leading in all the women dancers—and head man dancer, Seymour Eagle Speaker, a traditional dancer, led in the men.
Friday’s session would bring in more than 500 attendees and many of them watched intently as the dancers performed traditional dances. Colleen Benally, mother of Emcee Taylor “Cheii” Begay, was one of those in attendance, and she was clearly delighted by the day’s events.
“We have been attending the U of U Pow Wow since Taylor’s father and I were kids,” she said “and we came even after when Taylor and his brothers were babies. So, to have Taylor now on staff (as the event emcee) is such an honor!” she said. “Any time the university wants us back, we would welcome it!”
On Saturday, doors opened at 10 a.m. and the ballroom again began to fill quickly. More than a thousand attendees showed up for the second day of Pow Wow—from little ones carried by their parents to elders wearing traditional attire—and the Union was filled with people of all ages. On this day there would be two grand entries, one at noon and another in the evening, and in between there were competition dancing and singing contests.
There was also a moment for somber reflection during the afternoon session as the committee honored the late tribal chairman of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Rupert Steele, a good friend to the U of U. And in the spirit of “Elevating Indigenous Youth,” the theme of this year’s event, the youngest participants were honored during the Tiny Tot dance, and young dancers were treated to goody bags for carrying on their Pow Wow cultural traditions.
Outside the Union, the Blue Bird food truck tended to a long line of hungry customers seeking a taste of Native Cuisine, including fry bread, native tacos, and more. Students from the Inter-Tribal Student Association (ITSA) also put their fry bread-making skills to the test and sold items to fundraise for their student organization. The event served as a cultural platform for ITSA students to demonstrate their leadership and serve as role models for Indigenous youth in attendance, promoting a sense of belonging for current and future Native students, faculty, and staff.
Members of AIRC and ITSA want to thank their campus and community partners and recognize all their kind contributions which made the 51st annual University of U Pow Wow possible. This includes the Sacred Circle Healthcare; Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake; Native American Trading Post; U of U Chartwells; Pepsi; Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion; the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine and their staff of first aid volunteers; the Center for Equity & Student Belonging (CESB); staff of the A. Ray Olpin Student Union; and the university TRIO and ASUU cohorts. To stay up to date with planning for next year’s Pow Wow event, please visit the Pow Wow webpage or follow ITSA on Instagram or Twitter.
Tashina Barber, program manager at the American Indian Resource Center, is a citizen of the Diné Nation and a descendant of the Hopi and Ute Mountain Ute Nations who finds comfort in sharing her cultural identity through higher education work. Tashina is passionate about amplifying Native, First Nations, and Aboriginal experiences to share stories of past, present, and future to foster belonging on college campuses.
