NORTHERN CHEROKEE NATION POWWOW SET

The Northern Cherokee Nation of the Old Louisiana Territory and Southeast Missouri State University will host an intertribal powwow Nov. 15.

The powwow will be held in the Student Recreation Center at Southeast from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Dr. Carol Morrow, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology, chairs the powwow committee. "It is going to be a fairly big event, but it is only going to be one day," said Morrow. "They are usually a weekend long, but this is the first time we've done this and we want it to be as good as it can be."

A powwow is a social event among American Indians, although it still retains its sacred roots. At an intertribal powwow, members of many tribes gather to revive and enjoy the social aspect and diversity of the ancient cultures of the original Americans.

The powwow centers around the circle or the arena. Within the circle are Drums, which consist of singers and instruments, and head people, who lead the dancing and have places of honor at the proceedings. The dancers are also in the circle.

Many native Americans plan to participate, including Henry Smallwood, Cherokee master of ceremonies; Lawrence Sampson, Cherokee-Delaware Arena director; the White Buffalo Singers, Oklahoma Host Drum; Felicia Abbott, Cherokee head woman dancer; Frank Wolf, Omaha head man dancer; the Thunderheart Singers, Northern Drum; "Arrowhead Fred" Bollinger, flintknapper; Audra Dawn Sanders, Cherokee powwow princess; Justin Nesahkluah, Kiowa-Apache hoop dancer; and an Oklahoma gourd dance group.

Grizzly Seabaugh, powwow committee member and a member of the Northern Cherokee Nation, said: "There are many other peoples represented besides the Cherokee. This is an intertribal event."

The powwow is traditional and open to everyone. A traditional powwow, as opposed to a competition powwow, does not offer prizes or require an entry fee.

"We prefer to powwow in a traditional style," Seabaugh said. "A traditional powwow is a very spiritual thing."

The powwow is not a form of entertainment; rather, it is a spiritual time for the people participating. The dancers dance to progress along what the Cherokee call the "beauty path," a walk they believe helps them be the way the creator wants them to be, Seabaugh said.

The dancers are participants in a sacred ceremony. "This is a serious time for those who participate in a powwow," Seabaugh said. "A time for celebration, but also a time for spiritual growth."

As a result, participants will be asked to follow some guidelines, he said. These include standing when the master of ceremonies directs or when honoring songs (such as flag and veterans songs) are played, never picking up a piece of a dancer's outfit, limiting photography only to those dances the master of ceremonies specifies it is allowed for and only to those individuals who have given permission beforehand, and observing rules of seating. Spectators should not sit in the benches around the circle or the benches immediately behind them. They are reserved for the dancers and their families.

"The Northern Cherokee Nation and Southeast are hosting the powwow, but the powwow belongs to the head people, the dancers, the singers -- everybody who is part of the powwow. All we do is provide a place for it to happen," Seabaugh said.

The word "powwow" is believed to be a Narragansett word meaning "medicine man." Originally, a powwow was a gathering of medicine men to minister to someone who was sick.

"Our ancestors from 200 years ago would not recognize a powwow today," Seabaugh said. "The old powwows were dances with a very spiritual cause. As time went on, Europeans saw a way to make a dollar by the powwow. For the last 150 years or more, we've been holding powwows the way we do today."

Both Seabaugh and Morrow hope the powwow will become an annual event at Southeast.

The Northern Cherokee Nation is the only native American tribe that has been officially recognized by Missouri.

In 1721, the forbearers of the Nation began moving west of the Mississippi as English settlers began taking away their homelands and freedoms. During the time of the French and Spanish occupation of Louisiana, many Cherokee ancestors settled in the area of what is now Southeastern Missouri and northeastern Arkansas. In time, they became the "Lost Cherokees" to the kinsmen they left behind.

After the Louisiana Purchase, the Cherokees were forced from their properties and many migrated into Boone, Howard, Franklin, Randolph and Macon counties in Missouri.

In the 1980 census, over 12,000 people identified themselves as Cherokee in Missouri and Arkansas, Seabaugh said.