Audio postcard: UNM powwow is all about community
By Jeanette DeDios
May 1, 2025 at 1:19 PM MDT
The New Mexico spring winds were not kind Sunday afternoon, but that did not deter hundreds of people from gathering to witness Indigenous dancers dressed in their traditional regalia moving to the beat of drums surrounded by onlookers in a circle.
The Nizhoni Days Powwow, hosted by the Kiva Club at the University of New Mexico, had both competitive and open dancing that welcomed anyone to join.
Dancer Wači Winyan Edwards-King is Omaha, Oglala and Sicangu Lakota and Northern Cheyene from Omaha, Nebraska. She’s been dancing since she was three years old and said it’s a way to express herself.
“Sometimes there's not a healthy way for you to put your feelings, you know what I mean, sometimes people can't talk about it, or they can't write about it,” said Edwards King. “So whenever I’m feeling down, I go to a powwow to really uplift my spirit, and it's healing to me. And not only myself and my family but for those who can't dance or walk. And you know, I dance for the people who can't dance. So powwows are just a really good outlet for me to be able to express myself and just share my medicine with the other people.”
Edwards-King created her entire outfit with her mother.
“Right now, I have on a green dress that I made in honor of my babies that I lost,” she said. “And then I have on my dentalium hair ties, my leggings and mocs, and I normally would have my breastplate and feathers in. And then I have my cape on, it has my plumes.”
She said it represents who she is and her family and that there is significance in every dancer's attire.
“A lot of outfits, not just myself, but people out there, it tells a story of who they are, and a lot of their beadwork is like their family's older designs that represent who they are and where they come from,” she said. “So you can tell who a person is by their designs on their beadwork, or their outfits.”
“I'm half Oglala Lakota, Sicangu Lakota, but I'm also Omaha, so I represent all of that within my beadwork and my outfit,” said Edwards-King. “So your outfit really represents who you are as a person and where you come from, and your medicine from your people. And then you get to come out and share that with these people from different tribes all around the country.”
Edwards-King said that it’s a common misconception to view inter-tribal powwows as ceremonies. They’re more like celebrations.
“It's a celebration of you being able to be here to represent who you are. Because we weren't able to do this. They took this away from us,” she said. “So being able to be out here and wear my outfit and represent my family and my people and my tribes with everyone out here that's representing their people and their tribes. It's just an amazing feeling overall, and just, you know, something that's surreal to experience.”
Jody from the Continental Divide in western New Mexico and Shawnae from Covelo, California, who did not want to share their full names, came to feel a sense of community.
“We came to the powwow to listen to some music, see some dancing, be around other Natives. Get frybread.” said Shawnae. “Just to feel good, get some healing, embrace the culture. Have fun, be Native,” added Jody.
Jody said they preferred coming to Nizhoni rather than the larger Gathering of Nations powwow.
“I don't know about the Gathering, that price to get in, and the parking kind of a lot. It feels good coming here because it's free. It feels more welcoming. It doesn't feel like, ‘oh, money,” she said.
“It feels more like community here than I feel like I would feel over there,” said Shawnae.
While I was interviewing the two women, a little boy was leaving with his parents and he came up to us and gave all three of us a goodbye hug. This interaction is a perfect example of what powwow is all about – community.
“We just came to be two aunties today, we had a good time. We had a good time,” said Shawnae.
Support from the coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
The Nizhoni Days Powwow, hosted by the Kiva Club at the University of New Mexico, had both competitive and open dancing that welcomed anyone to join.
Dancer Wači Winyan Edwards-King is Omaha, Oglala and Sicangu Lakota and Northern Cheyene from Omaha, Nebraska. She’s been dancing since she was three years old and said it’s a way to express herself.
“Sometimes there's not a healthy way for you to put your feelings, you know what I mean, sometimes people can't talk about it, or they can't write about it,” said Edwards King. “So whenever I’m feeling down, I go to a powwow to really uplift my spirit, and it's healing to me. And not only myself and my family but for those who can't dance or walk. And you know, I dance for the people who can't dance. So powwows are just a really good outlet for me to be able to express myself and just share my medicine with the other people.”
Edwards-King created her entire outfit with her mother.
“Right now, I have on a green dress that I made in honor of my babies that I lost,” she said. “And then I have on my dentalium hair ties, my leggings and mocs, and I normally would have my breastplate and feathers in. And then I have my cape on, it has my plumes.”
She said it represents who she is and her family and that there is significance in every dancer's attire.
“A lot of outfits, not just myself, but people out there, it tells a story of who they are, and a lot of their beadwork is like their family's older designs that represent who they are and where they come from,” she said. “So you can tell who a person is by their designs on their beadwork, or their outfits.”
“I'm half Oglala Lakota, Sicangu Lakota, but I'm also Omaha, so I represent all of that within my beadwork and my outfit,” said Edwards-King. “So your outfit really represents who you are as a person and where you come from, and your medicine from your people. And then you get to come out and share that with these people from different tribes all around the country.”
Edwards-King said that it’s a common misconception to view inter-tribal powwows as ceremonies. They’re more like celebrations.
“It's a celebration of you being able to be here to represent who you are. Because we weren't able to do this. They took this away from us,” she said. “So being able to be out here and wear my outfit and represent my family and my people and my tribes with everyone out here that's representing their people and their tribes. It's just an amazing feeling overall, and just, you know, something that's surreal to experience.”
Jody from the Continental Divide in western New Mexico and Shawnae from Covelo, California, who did not want to share their full names, came to feel a sense of community.
“We came to the powwow to listen to some music, see some dancing, be around other Natives. Get frybread.” said Shawnae. “Just to feel good, get some healing, embrace the culture. Have fun, be Native,” added Jody.
Jody said they preferred coming to Nizhoni rather than the larger Gathering of Nations powwow.
“I don't know about the Gathering, that price to get in, and the parking kind of a lot. It feels good coming here because it's free. It feels more welcoming. It doesn't feel like, ‘oh, money,” she said.
“It feels more like community here than I feel like I would feel over there,” said Shawnae.
While I was interviewing the two women, a little boy was leaving with his parents and he came up to us and gave all three of us a goodbye hug. This interaction is a perfect example of what powwow is all about – community.
“We just came to be two aunties today, we had a good time. We had a good time,” said Shawnae.
Support from the coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.