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The Wacipi way
Paulette Tobin
Grand Forks Herald
The Young Kingbirds sat in a circle around their drum at UND Hyslop Arena on
Saturday afternoon, each holding a single soft-tipped mallet, bending forward
intently as they prepared to begin their song.
A single beat put the drumming and singing in motion and then the young men
around the drum began their celebration song for the judges. Some strokes were
soft and light, others hit the drum like a sledge hammer. Their voices rose and fell
as they sang. One singer put a hand to his throat and closed his eyes in
concentration as his voice rang higher than the rest.
A crowd of people crowded around the Young Kingbirds, as they did for each
drum group in turn as they sang. Many took pictures and video with their cell
phones and other recorders. The judges looked solemn and wrote on their
clipboards.
The UND Wacipi, now in its 41st year, is the powwow that more or less kicks off
the powwow season for the Kingbird family, who are Ojibwe from Red Lake, Minn.
The Wacipi began Friday night at Hyslop, continued Saturday with two sessions
and a free traditional feast of buffalo and other foods. The last session begins at 1
p.m. Sunday with the final grand entry.
Mark Kingbird said he and his brothers and cousins (Saturday there were 13
around the drum) have been coming to the UND Wacipi since the 1990s to play
and sing for the dancers and to compete for the drumming prize.
After a long winter, Kingbird said, the powwow circuit starts off at the UND Wacipi
and then he and his wife and five children spend many weekends in the warm
months traveling around Wisconsin and Minnesota and beyond to take part in
other powwows.
They treat each spot like a stop on a vacation, he said, taking in the sights. They
enjoy sharing their music and culture, seeing old friends and making new ones.
“It’s fun to get out and meet new people,” he said.
Saturday’s Wacipi, sponsored by the UND Indian Association, began at 1 p.m.
with the grand entry, a stirring sight as dozens of men, women and youth dancers
in traditional and colorful regalia joined a processional into the arena, all to the
singing and playing of the drum groups.
Led by a color guard of veterans in khaki camouflage, the dancers circled the
arena until the flags and tribal staffs were in the middle surrounded by dancers
whose regalia varied according to their tribe and the type of dance. Most of the
men and boys wore roach headdresses with feathers, some with beading, ribbons
and even small mirrors. Women and girls wore feathers, or a combination of
beaded headbands and feather.
The most colorful and elaborate dancers were the men’s fancy dancers, who wore
double bustles of feathers on their backs, often in neon orange or green. Some
male dancers also had arm bustles worn just below their shoulders, about the size
of dinner plates, with feathers and other decorations.
Native people refer to the drums as the heartbeat of their people. At the powwow,
the combination of song and the pounding drums were a beat that passed from
one drum to the next. Then there were the tinkling of the jingles worn by women’s
jingle dancers, and the jingling of the bells many of the men wore around their legs
and ankles.
The Wacipi is a celebration of nation and tradition, but it also felt like a big party.
Families brought their elders and their tiny babies. Teenagers strolled the arena
checking out other teenagers. Little kids ran and played. Adults greeted one
another and visited.
Vendors were selling fry bread and chili, as well as dream-catchers, turtle shell
rattles, moccasins, quilts, and lots of other ornaments. ROTC had a booth there as
did a group fighting domestic violence. And there was a booth selling car and truck
decals with native symbols and tribal names. They had bumper stickers too: “I may
be older but I can still out dance you,” and “Shut up and eat your fry bread.”
Admission for Sunday’s final session is $6, and free for people 60 and older, 5
and younger and UND students with ID.
Grand Forks Herald
The Young Kingbirds sat in a circle around their drum at UND Hyslop Arena on
Saturday afternoon, each holding a single soft-tipped mallet, bending forward
intently as they prepared to begin their song.
A single beat put the drumming and singing in motion and then the young men
around the drum began their celebration song for the judges. Some strokes were
soft and light, others hit the drum like a sledge hammer. Their voices rose and fell
as they sang. One singer put a hand to his throat and closed his eyes in
concentration as his voice rang higher than the rest.
A crowd of people crowded around the Young Kingbirds, as they did for each
drum group in turn as they sang. Many took pictures and video with their cell
phones and other recorders. The judges looked solemn and wrote on their
clipboards.
The UND Wacipi, now in its 41st year, is the powwow that more or less kicks off
the powwow season for the Kingbird family, who are Ojibwe from Red Lake, Minn.
The Wacipi began Friday night at Hyslop, continued Saturday with two sessions
and a free traditional feast of buffalo and other foods. The last session begins at 1
p.m. Sunday with the final grand entry.
Mark Kingbird said he and his brothers and cousins (Saturday there were 13
around the drum) have been coming to the UND Wacipi since the 1990s to play
and sing for the dancers and to compete for the drumming prize.
After a long winter, Kingbird said, the powwow circuit starts off at the UND Wacipi
and then he and his wife and five children spend many weekends in the warm
months traveling around Wisconsin and Minnesota and beyond to take part in
other powwows.
They treat each spot like a stop on a vacation, he said, taking in the sights. They
enjoy sharing their music and culture, seeing old friends and making new ones.
“It’s fun to get out and meet new people,” he said.
Saturday’s Wacipi, sponsored by the UND Indian Association, began at 1 p.m.
with the grand entry, a stirring sight as dozens of men, women and youth dancers
in traditional and colorful regalia joined a processional into the arena, all to the
singing and playing of the drum groups.
Led by a color guard of veterans in khaki camouflage, the dancers circled the
arena until the flags and tribal staffs were in the middle surrounded by dancers
whose regalia varied according to their tribe and the type of dance. Most of the
men and boys wore roach headdresses with feathers, some with beading, ribbons
and even small mirrors. Women and girls wore feathers, or a combination of
beaded headbands and feather.
The most colorful and elaborate dancers were the men’s fancy dancers, who wore
double bustles of feathers on their backs, often in neon orange or green. Some
male dancers also had arm bustles worn just below their shoulders, about the size
of dinner plates, with feathers and other decorations.
Native people refer to the drums as the heartbeat of their people. At the powwow,
the combination of song and the pounding drums were a beat that passed from
one drum to the next. Then there were the tinkling of the jingles worn by women’s
jingle dancers, and the jingling of the bells many of the men wore around their legs
and ankles.
The Wacipi is a celebration of nation and tradition, but it also felt like a big party.
Families brought their elders and their tiny babies. Teenagers strolled the arena
checking out other teenagers. Little kids ran and played. Adults greeted one
another and visited.
Vendors were selling fry bread and chili, as well as dream-catchers, turtle shell
rattles, moccasins, quilts, and lots of other ornaments. ROTC had a booth there as
did a group fighting domestic violence. And there was a booth selling car and truck
decals with native symbols and tribal names. They had bumper stickers too: “I may
be older but I can still out dance you,” and “Shut up and eat your fry bread.”
Admission for Sunday’s final session is $6, and free for people 60 and older, 5
and younger and UND students with ID.
| Click on Poster for larger view |
Patricia Bugg, Red Lake, Minn., dances at the 41st annual UND Indian
Association's Time-Out Wacipi at the Hyslop Sports Center in Grand Forks
on Saturday. Herald photo by John Stennes.
Association's Time-Out Wacipi at the Hyslop Sports Center in Grand Forks
on Saturday. Herald photo by John Stennes.