The Sunshine Express

The Sunshine Express

An independent, local news, arts, and entertainment monthly, with a fresh focus on good news, fun happenings, business promotion, and positive energy. Serving over 18 communities in 7 Southwest counties on the western slope of Colorado.

First Annual Montrose Indian Nations Powwow Begins In September - September 2010

The annual Montrose Indian Nations Powwow is coming to Friendship Hall of the Montrose County Fairgrounds on September 24, 25 & 26. This is the largest indoor powwow on the Western Slope, with dancers competing for prize money of $20,000.
Gourd dancing, intertribal dancing, an Indian Market plus drum and dance contests will take place over the 3 day event. Everyone is invited to join the fun and honor the traditions.
Powwows are celebrations and social gatherings for Native Americans, visiting with old friends and making new ones. An important aspect of these celebrations is to preserve and honor their traditions, as well as an opportunity to share their rich heritage with the non-Native American community.
Singing and dancing are central to a powwow. The styles are derived from traditional dances of various tribes. The colorful regalia worn by dancers has evolved from historic styles as newer, more varied materials have become available. Most are hand made and often fragile. Pieces may be family heirlooms, or signify honors or religious traditions.
During the powwow, many varieties of songs are performed, some with words and some without. Over time, the words to some songs have varied among different tribes. Songs with no words, known as “vocals”, allow singers from different tribes to join in, sharing in the singing. The songs and dances at a powwow are reminders to participants and spectators of the old ways and the Indian Nations’ rich heritage.
The oldest continuous residents of Colorado are the Ute Indians. They were the only Indian tribe to live year round in Colorado and are the only tribe to have reservations in Colorado. When aboriginal tribes made treaties with the United States in the 1800’s, tribes were dealt with as sovereign nations within a nation (the United States). The Ute Tribe, like others, has sovereignty, meaning that the tribe has its own law and order code and judicial system. The Tribe has jurisdiction over its members within the original 3.5 million acre reservation.
A powwow is more than just a big party. It has spiritual significance to the participants and therefore people need to understand and respect the etiquette involved in attending this event. (The rest of the story...)

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