'Honoring Our Traditions' showcases Native culture

BONNERS FERRY — A decent-sized crowd of more than 300 filled the Becker auditorium to see Native American drummers and dancers showcase a unique part of western culture Feb. 5.

Tribal members and curious locals turned out to support local native youth taking the stage for the first time, and everyone came to watch expert dancers from around the western United States show off skills honed on the powwow circuit.

“These dancers have to keep well-conditioned,” said emcee Justus Cree, as he described the dances and regalia for the uninitiated. “At a powwow, sometimes you will dance 12 to 15 songs with only 30 second breaks in between.”

The performance was the third of the day for the dancers, who first showcased their skills for the middle and high school students, then for a combined crowd of elementary students from all three Boundary County schools.

“The kids really liked it,” said BFHS Band Director Jessica Hanna, who helped organize the event. “The elementary kids and teachers especially thought it was awesome to learn about and see.”

Many of the younger tribal members that danced are students at the elementary schools.

“It’s a hard thing to do, and very gutsy for them to get up in front of their peers,” Hanna said. “The younger students were shy at first but loosened up once they realized people thought it was neat. It was a very valuable learning experience for the other students.”

The evening audience was first treated to Paula Shabala in a jingle dress, accompanied by one of the Kootenai youth. There are traditionally 365 small metal cones on the jingle dress, Cree explained, one for every day of the year. The dance Shabala showed attendees was a healing dance in the shape of a circle — a very important theme for native Americans, Cree said.

Next, Cree introduced Chad Brown Eagle, a high school senior from Usk, Wash., a grass dancer who is also quite a basketball player, Cree said.

Grass dancers are traditionally servers (not servants) at tribal gatherings. The grass dance was traditionally used to flatten the long grass in front of Native American lodges in preparation for a powwow and regalia were traditionally made from natural materials like grass.

The grass is now represented by hanging yarn which moves with the grass dancer. Brown Eagle was joined by a trio of Kootenai youth in their own resplendent regalia.

Audience members were treated to two types of traditional women’s dance regalia, with junior Miss Kootenai Marisa Shottanana-Ponce in buckskin and Liberty Cree in beaded regalia complete with long fringed shawl.

The traditional women’s regalia is often put together with thousands of glass beads, Cree said, and can weigh more than 60 pounds.

Sheldon Shabala and Illikai Aitken demonstrated the Men’s traditional regalia for the audience. Their dance tells the story of a warrior, Cree told the audience, describing a successful hunt or battle. The dancers would duck on the heavy honor beat, a move that descended from the Snake River area Nez Perce, or Nimi’ipuu who, along with legendary leader Chief Joseph would dodge cannonballs from the US military, getting close enough to capture some of their cannons.

Shawl dancers followed the warriors, with Valerie Adrian accompanied by a small group of Kootenai girls in elegant butterfly-like dances, floating above the earth with shawls representing the butterfly wings. Adrian showed different steps for different dances, from the double-beat to the crow-hop.

“Their energy feeds us,” Cree said. “I’m over here dancing, too!”

Saving one of the best for last, Rodney First Strike demonstrated a hoop dance for the audience. Hoops were originally made from red willow but First Strike uses plastic hoops similar to a hula-hoop.

First Strike had a little fun with the idea, and gave one of his hoops a quick twirl around his waist before launching into a complex and amazing dance, interweaving the hoops on his arms and legs without missing a beat. He formed animals from the hoops, ending with arms outstretched and the hoops across his back like the wings of an eagle.

Community members were impressed and thankful for the sharing of culture and time by the native dancers. Hanna was appreciative for the turnout, saying the event helped members of the BFHS band who sold tickets and worked the show edge closer to their goal of a trip to Seattle to play in and attend a music festival.

The next American Music Project presentation will feature a Jazz band out of Coeur d’ Alene, possibly a dessert and dancing event.

Details and a final date remain to be worked out. Future plans for the project will focus on world music, and Hanna, along with local community organizer Barbara Castellan have applied for an Idaho Commission on the Arts grant to bring Japanese Taiko drummers and an Afro-Carribean group to Bonners Ferry. Grant winners will be announce in June.