Powwow held for education

In a celebration of the often misrepresented and marginalized American Indian culture, two on-campus and off-campus groups co-operated to organize a Native American powwow, set for Saturday in Carnegie.

The powwow was put together by members of the board of the American Indian Education Center and Oberlin's newly-founded American Indian Council.

The powwow will host a demonstrations that show traditional crafts, art and food of American Indian cultures. include dancers and American Indian food such as frybread, Navajo tacos and Buffalo chili. Food vendors, who will sell traditional foods like frybread, Navajo tacos and Buffalo chili, will represent the Navajo, Seneca, Lakota and Shawnee tribes, to name a few. Other participants will sell hand-crafted tokens like dream catchers and products of silver smithing.

The singing group "Many Voices" will perform, and Robert Roach (Cheyenne River Sioux) will be the lead drummer.

The event is free, which is unprecedented for powwows. Bob Roche, chairman of the AIEC, kicked off the events today at noon. He will be speaking on American Indians in Cleveland and the role of racism in their lives. He will also speak on what higher education can do to address racism.

Unlike most powwows, the dancing at this event is non-competitive. After the dance performances, viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about their meaning, and there will be a flute demonstration by Kay Edwards. Faye Lone (Seneca), lead dancer from Buffalo New York, will be speaking on educational issues and the history of the powwow.

Organizers hope this conference will serve as an opportunity for people to learn more factual information about the American Indian culture.

Professor of Jazz Studies Peter Dominguez said he hopes the experience will "provide cultural awareness for the American Indians and a new-found respect for the culture."

Dominguez was asked to sit on a committee to decide how to allocate funds that the College had received from the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

At the committee's meetings, a concern was raised regarding how facilities of higher education could work with the local communities to prepare graduates to address legacies of racism and racial reconciliation. Due to the lack of recognition of Native American issues, the committee did not feel that the graduates of Oberlin were being fully prepared for graduation. It was hoped that a powwow would be an introduction of Native American culture to the Oberlin community.

"We want to encourage the whole community to drop by," Susan Dominguez said. "It will be a great experience."

Peter Dominguez added, "Also, come out and taste the food!"