You can help to establish an international powwow!
Your help is needed this year to bring the best Native American dancers in Texas to the 2013 Sacred Springs Powwow. With a donation of only $5 you can help to build this annual event into a "competition powwow" and launch an International Powwow that draws hundreds of Native dancers from all parts of the Americas.
"We want to host Native dancers from the top of North America to the tip of South America, and eventually make the Sacred Springs Powwow an international event," says Dr. Mario Garza, Indigenous Cultures Institute Board of Directors Chair. "This year we'll start with eight 'special competitions' that will draw dancers from all over Texas.”
In three years we hope to build the powwow to a much larger event that invites competition dancers from all over the Western Hemisphere.
What is a competition powwow?
The powwow has evolved into a social gathering - not a ceremony - but rather a celebration of Native American culture through traditional dancing, foods, and arts. There are two primary types of powwows, 1) the community powwows that draw local dancers who dress in traditional regalia and participate in social dancing, and 2) the competition powwows that draw professional-level dancers who seek the honor of being the best in their dance category. These dancers come from reservations or urban settings, and travel all over the United States attending competition powwows, demonstrating their compelling dancing, and wearing phenomenal regalia.
The excitement of a competition powwow is palpable and unique. Audience members bond with their favorite dancers and cheer as they advance to the finals. Each level of competition is more exciting than the next as each dancer strives to deliver his or her ultimate and proudest performance.
At the 2013 Sacred Springs Powwow, we want to offer eight special competitions, each with first, second, and third place cash prizes, and a special competition for children and youth dancers. The competitions will be for Men’s Fancy, Men's Grass, Men’s Traditional, and Men's Straight dancers; Women’s Buckskin, Women's Cloth Dress, Women’s Fancy Shawl, and Women's Jingle Dress dancers. In the children’s and youth competition, all of the dancers win a prize.
Help us to build the Sacred Springs Powwow into an international event!
The Institute’s email list of supporters numbers 1,241. If enough supporters can donate just $5 each, we can raise the $5,000 needed for the eight competitions and the children and youth prizes. The link to our website (above-left) will take you the news and announcements column for the $5.00 donate button. You can use your PayPal account or a credit card, either one. Or if you prefer to mail us a check, please make it out to ICI, and mail to Indigenous Cultures Institute, P.O. Box 1414, San Marcos, TX 78667.
Don’t miss this Powwow!
The 2013 Sacred Springs Powwow is moving to the Aquarena Center's peninsula, a vastly more beautiful area which is directly along the shores of the river, surrounded by the beauty of Spring Lake. This year the vendors will be located in a circle around the arena tent closer to the powwow dancing. Also this year the powwow will include archeological earth oven demonstrations, a 32-foot teepee with artifact displays and presentations inside, and a Friday evening sacred sites lecture on the White Shaman Panel.
The Sacred Springs Powwow is on its way to becoming an international event; so please be a part of this exciting and ambitious effort by donating $5. Show your receipt at the Admissions Tent and receive a complimentary admission to the powwow. And then, join us for an extraordinary experience you will remember forever.
