The Jam Files #14.1 — “On the Powwow Trail”

I struggle to put every feeling I had about my double powwow experience into words. I’m going to do my best though.

The first weekend was the Peshawbeston Powwow with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. That town is about a half hour from where I’m at, so my Uncle & Aunt crashed with us for that weekend. It was so great to see them. I was so excited when they pulled up Friday. Jackson & I jumped in the truck & we headed to the powwow grounds to set up. Afterwards we went rock hunting at a couple beaches in Leelenau & they helped us identify certain types of rocks. There was a lot of granite, unakite, & a few petoskey rocks that Jackson had fun collecting. I grabbed some too of course. My Aunt gathers them to make beautiful soap dishes out of. The Petoskey is also the Michigan state rock.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday & Grand Entry was starting. I couldn’t help myself, I cried the moment the drums started & the dancers entered the arena. I’ve been crying so many happy tears lately. Also, my eye won’t stop producing tears. I almost always have a trickle running down my face. I don’t know if it’s allergies or years of suppressed tears, but I’m just letting it happen.

It was a competition powwow & I think there were a little over 200 dancers. I had my frybread & sausage gravy for breakfast & so much coffee, but the heat of the sun seemed to cancel out the caffeine boost. (I won’t even talk about how much frybread I consumed over the weekend!) The excitement of just being there kept me going. I love powwows. I love the drums, I love the dancing, the food, talking to people, checking out vendors’ booths, & this time I really loved that I could help out at my family’s booth.

I’m going to sound biased, but my family makes some seriously awesome stuff. I have never seen deer tallow soaps anywhere else & the tea blends, lotion bars, salves, & other bath products are the best around. A lot of soaps & lotions & stuff affect my skin in a bad way but the natural medicine in these products is not only beneficial to my sensitivities, but also helps me feel connected to my culture & the earth. My family grows their own herbs or gathers them from various places & they gather in a sacred & respectful way. They only take what they need, they lay tobacco down in thanks, & use everything to make these seriously amazing products. My cousin makes wonderfully scented candles & my Uncle has even started making dreamcatchers & they’re so beautiful. I’m going to drop a link HERE so you can check out their website. They do online orders so don’t worry if you can’t make it up here to visit them at one of the powwows. I know I’ve mentioned the teas before. The Couchlock tea is the only thing that works for me on bad pain days to help me function. I drink other blends for my various ailments & they’re all so tasty.

I was helping to trim sweetgrass braids & cutting it up with my uncle who was braiding them so much that my husband & aunt told us we needed to be separated. People ask me where I get my humor from & I always say “from my uncle!” & I realized how true that is almost immediately.

My family was able to help out a vendor who ran into some car trouble on Sunday night & this woman had one of the brightest, most intense auras I’ve ever seen. I was glad we had a place for her to crash & she was able to get everything taken care of here in Traverse City. As soon as I met her I felt a kinship bond & it was so great to hear some of her stories & I hope to see her again. It was great to listen to people in general at this powwow. My family has many visitors in their booth & they all have stories that will make you both laugh & cry. That’s the oral tradition for you.

It was a blend of emotions all weekend. They were mostly good too. The sun got to me a bit & Sunday during booth breakdown my body & brain kind of quit on me so I just had to sit & rest, but it was alright. Jackson had a good time too. It was only his second powwow I believe. Many years ago during a visit to MI we went to a powwow with my family in Grand Rapids & I have fond memories of that one too. This was my first powwow since then. My family does this every weekend during powwow season & I seriously admire them for that. It makes me proud to be in such a cool family that’s doing all they can to teach native ways. They teach me all the time so I can share what I learn too.

When I talk about feeling like I belong here in this state, I felt it that much stronger at the powwow. I didn’t feel like I “wasn’t native enough” or anything like I did at the last one. I felt like it was more than okay to be myself & that’s a wonderful feeling. I don’t even know why I get like that. I think it’s probably because I had feelings of being disconnected for so long that when I would visit in the past I would feel like I was an outsider. I wondered if I’d ever feel at home again. I’m not going to lie, it was really depressing. Now that I’m here to stay I don’t feel so apprehensive. Everything seems to flow so naturally & I feel better than I have in years.

Working a powwow can be tough work but it’s worth it when you can see someone walk away with some good medicine even if they don’t buy anything from the booth. How can I be down around my family anyway, & especially around my Uncle? haha I laughed so hard my kidneys hurt. That’s the good kind of hurt.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the Rendezvous at the Straits Powwow in St. Ignace. I got to meet some little family members I had never met before & that whole weekend was so amazing I’m still smiling about it.

Stay tuned for more frybread riots & sacred tears!

Photo by Jackson Patino