Cultural Affair : American Indian Powwow Draws Thousands

Feathers and fringe swirled around the beating drum as hundreds of dancers pranced about. With heavy silver hanging on their necks, bells wrapped around their legs and beaded embroidery on their headdresses, the dancers filled the arena as tribal chanting filled the air.

“We do not just get out here and dance for entertainment, we do not just dance for recreation,” announcer Tom Phillips reminded the crowd gathered at the Orange County Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon. “We do it because it is our way of life, a part of our culture and tradition.”

Cultural tradition is the focus of the Southern California Indian Center’s 24th annual Pow Wow, a celebration of American Indian life, that continues today from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thousands of Indians from across the country come to the powwow to dance or sell their crafts, and thousands of non-Indians attend the festival to watch and learn.

Each costume seemed more fantastic than the next as more than 500 dancers made their entry into the arena, which was blessed as sacred ground before the ritual began.

Many of the men carried red and blue scarves: red for the blood shed by ancestors trying to defend their land; blue for the hope for the future found beyond the sky. The women wore handmade dresses of buckskin or cloth; long braids hung down their backs. Children as young as 6 wore brightly colored feathers and fringe from head to toe.

Outside the arena, where the drum beats all day long, more than 100 vendors set up shop. Indian tacos--fried dough topped with beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions--were the popular snack as shoppers perused aisle after aisle of authentic handmade jewelry, clothing, pottery and paintings.

A canvas tepee stenciled with a turquoise parrot was on sale for $50. Elsewhere, there were books and tapes to teach novices native dialects. “Columbus didn’t discover America--he invaded it,” said one T-shirt. The same salesman displayed a row of buttons: “Discover Columbus’ legacy: 500 years of racism, oppression and stolen land.”

Alongside the craft shacks were booths with information about financial aid for college, and employment opportunities with public agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

“Being Indian is a living thing,” said Executive Director John Castillo, an Apache who lives in Costa Mesa.

“We want to try to do away with those myths that have been built by Hollywood,” Castillo said. “We’re trying to change that by broadening the information people have about American Indians today. This is an opportunity to try to forge change.”

Southern California is home to about 100,000 American Indians, the largest urban American Indian population in the United States. Nearly 20,000 live in Orange County, where the Southern California Indian Center Pow Wow has been held since 1986.

Established in 1968, the center provides social services, job training and educational assistance to the American Indian community. “This is our old country. If we don’t keep the culture and language and tradition alive here, we have nowhere to go,” said Alma Rail, a Seneca who serves as president of the Indian center’s 15-member board of directors. “We’ve done it for 500 years and we’ll do it for another 500. We’ll persevere.”

Rail said she was proud as she watched more than 500 dancers fill the arena for the “Grand Entry.” Leading the pack was a color guard of military veterans carrying an eagle staff and the flags of the United States, California and the Indian center.

After each group of dancers was introduced, the drum played four “war mother” songs, written during previous wars to console women whose sons were fighting overseas. Then the crowd stood for the crowning of the Pow Wow princess, 16-year-old Angela Del Castillo of Covina.

Del Castillo, who has been attending Southern California Indian Center Pow Wows since she was born, will represent the Southern California Indian community at 50 powwows throughout the country during the coming year. Southern California Indian Center princesses from as far back as 1972 were on hand Saturday to honor her, draping a sash and shawl over her shoulders, placing a beaded crown on her head and showering her with red roses and a large gold trophy.

“This has been my dream since I was a little girl,” Del Castillo said in an interview after her ceremonial dance around the arena. “It gives me great honor.”