Celebrate Culture
Headstart holds powwow
Megan Strickland
Rayna Tonasket dances in colorful regalia Friday at the Headstart Powwow in Ronan.
Megan Strickland
Yamncut drums for the powwow.
Megan Strickland
Turkey is on the menu for more than 900 people who gather to share a meal during the powwow celebration.
Megan Strickland
Jingles fling as young friends giggle through their dance.
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
Megan Strickland
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More than 900 people gathered to share a Thanksgiving dinner and celebrate Native American culture at the 39th annual Headstart Powwow in Ronan on Friday.
The event was moved from its former spring date to November in 2013, so families could jointly celebrate their heritage and blessings in the month of Thanksgiving without having to compete with other springtime happenings.
Early Learning Director Jeanne Christopher said she was pleased with the turn out and has enjoyed seeing the powwow grow from a single-classroom celebration in Arlee almost four decades ago, into the massive celebration it is today.
“I think it is really important because of where we live,” Christopher said. “We live on the Flathead Reservation and it is a celebration of thankfulness and of just the fact that we live here and it’s beautiful. We have to have things to celebrate, like a rite of passage.”
Preparation for the celebration can last all year, with sewing classes, native language classes, and cultural lessons taught in classrooms leading up to the event.
Each of the program’s 250 children receives a pair of handmade, custom moccasins for the powwow. Much of the regalia is also given to the children by elders who teach younger people how to make it.
“There are a lot of very talented people who help us by making vests for boys and breech cloths and shawls and dresses for girls,” Christopher said.
Christopher said the work done by 90 staff and teachers in the classroom and others making regalia makes a difference.
“I don’t do the tough stuff,” Christopher said. “Teachers across the valley are helping children develop positive self-awareness. They are helping children learn about their culture. That is the important work. The important thing is that we learn to get along and share the land.”
The end result is a lovely ceremony, Christopher said.
“There were just so many kids on the floor with beautiful regalia,” Christopher said.
Children twisted and turned to drumbeats at the celebration. They laughed, shook hands, and got lost in music and good times.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal Councilmember Shelly Fyant encouraged the families to be grateful for their blessings at the celebration.
“We are thankful for all the elk and the deer for meat,” Fyant said. “We ask that we remain thoughtful about those who may not have hunters. We are thankful for all the parents and the students, all the dancers who are out here today. It really does my heart good to see so many young kids out here today. We’re thankful for this program and what it means for the community.”
