GISD hosts powwow for Native American scholarships

Pamela Robinson

Crowds were met by the sound of beating drums as they walked through the Gainesville High School gymnasium doors on Saturday to participate in the Gainesville Student Benefit Powwow.

Intertribal dancers from as far away as Seattle came to Gainesville to participate in the Powwow and dance in the many category contests.

This is the first year for this Powwow, which is to benefit Native American students in the Gainesville Independent School District through college scholarships to be awarded to graduating seniors.

11-year-old Oke Tw’sha Roberts participated in the intertribal contests and said she has been dancing since she has been walking. She likes to dance because of the feeling, like when you are free, she said.

“It’s been part of our family tradition,” said her mother Rowena Roberts, who grew up dancing and singing in Powwows herself.

High school freshman Alex Lena participated in the Powwow, dancing grass style.

Lena’s mother, Trudy Lujan said that in dancing, it is important to “dance with your heart.” She said that Lena talked with an icon grass dancer when he was learning and couldn’t really dance the way he wanted to. His icon told him, “you need to dance with your heart.”

“I wanted him to be part of the circle,” Lujan said, “to be part of the Powwows and his people. He likes to come here to be with people his age and be a part of this and to meet new people.

“He has a new name recently, Spotted Jumping Eagle, which he received at a Sun Dance,” she continued. “His grandpa gave him the name.”

The Thacker family came to participate in the Powwow because basically, it’s a way to keep the culture alive, said father Chris Tucker. Tucker himself, was introduced to his Native American ancestry through the Boy Scout program, attending a Powwow and then went on to learn about his Native American ancestry and culture.

Mother Anna Thacker participated in the Gourd Dance, an honorary dance for warriors, including modern veterans and military personnel.

Travis Davis, an organizer of the Powwow, said the Powwow is a kick-off to get people interested in a Native American club or clubs at the Gainesville schools.

Davis is part of the parent committee and said their ultimate goal is to help graduating Native American students with college expenses through scholarships.

Gainesville Middle School assistant principal Terry Ashby, who oversaw the organization of the Powwow, said that the Native American student population is six percent of the overall population in the GISD.

Ashby gave credit to the many volunteers who helped to bring the Powwow together, including Cedric Ketchewhawno who coordinated bringing in the dancers and singers and then turned to the purpose of the Powwow.

“The most important thing is the drum,” Ashby said. “If you don’t have a drum, you don’t have a Powwow. It was originally thought of as the heartbeat of the Powwow.”

He said that basically, the Powwow is to first of all generate scholarships and get funding for Native American students in the school district and two, to spark some interest in starting a Native American club in the high school and hopefully the middle school as well.

“We have 11 (Native American) students graduating this year,” Ashby said. “They are all eligible to apply for the scholarship.”

GISD Superintendent Bill Gravitt said he was very impressed by the number of people participating in and attending the Powwow.

“My grandmother was a full-blooded Choctaw,” Gravitt said. “I’ve been around this all my life. It’s always been of interest to me. I enjoy it and think our kids and the people in the community will enjoy it and support it. I can see us continuing to do this and they’ve said they would like to.”

The Color Guard was presented by the Choctaw nation. Master of Ceremonies was R.G. Harris.

Native American vendors with items including jewelry, art, leather crafts, books, flutes, sage, woodwork, regalia and traditional food filled the perimeter of the gymnasium and the cafeteria.

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