Powwow organizers hope to keep tradition alive
The Golden Eagle Drummers perform for community and tribal members as part of the Spirit of Soap Lake Powwow held Saturday. Below, left: People look at booths during the Spirit of Soap Lake.
SOAP LAKE - The second Spirit of Soap Lake Powwow was at East Beach Park in Soap Lake Saturday and Sunday.
It's an event organizers hope to continue on an annual basis.
"A powwow is sort of the equivalent of our family reunion," said Brenda Ready, a representative of the Soap Lake Garden Club, which organized the event. "Years ago, natives in the spring would travel to reach a certain destination for a festival."
She said the events provide an ideal opportunity for locals to learn about native cultures. Last weekend members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation shared arts and crafts, traditional stories and drumming.
On Saturday night a community meal was held for tribal members.
"When a powwow comes to town, it's customary to provide food and give small donations to help pay for gas and feed families that have come such a long distance to participate," Ready said.
In the last roughly 20 years the powwow has taken on a competitive edge, where drummers and dancers often vie for large cash prizes. The Soap Lake powwow was focused on fostering a sense of community and history instead, Ready said.
She points to the lake's rich past as a healing place where regional tribes often met on an annual basis. Annual powwows have been held in the town since 1954, a tradition that lasted well into the 1990s.
Recently, the Soap Lake Garden Club has been instrumental in reviving the tradition.
"A lot of it is a physical and spiritual healing," emcee Faran Sohappy said. "It's said that the drumbeat is the heart of mother Earth. Someone in the crowd might be depressed or just not feeling good, the drums are intended to help."
While there are many different styles of dance, one traditional dance performed Saturday night had members of the community and tribe form a line and move slowly with the drum beat in a circle to the east. At a certain point the line doubled back to the west, and the dancers shook hands, laughed and smiled at each other as they passed by.
"This is the beginning of bringing back the experience of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s," Ready said. "It's a great opportunity to learn from each other."