Pow wow brings together area tribes

BONNERS FERRY — The Kootenai Tribe hosted their Kootenai River Days pow wow over the weekend. The event was highly attended by local community members as well as out of town tribes who traveled to partake in the festivities.

This was the second year in a row that the tribe has extended the invitation to the public and other Native Tribes of the northwestern and southwestern states to join the pow wow’s Grand Entry.

The weekend was also filled with native foods and games of stick game.

Stick game is a game of intuition, according to the University of Idaho website. Players use drums to establish a rhythm while opposing players use rattles are to distract opposing team members. Also part of the game are counting sticks, and marked or unmarked bones — bones are usually made of plastic in today’s games.

Players play this non-verbal communication game for fun oar for money. In the past, traditionally only men were allowed to play with women singing.

The drum is currently only played by men, but women are now participating as the “hiders” or “guessers.”

One of the highlights of the pow wow is the traditional dancing with competitors dressed in elaborate costumes and adornments that jingle or rattle as they move.