Van Nuys : Y Holds Powwow for Indian Guides

As the sound of beating drums filled the air, the chief of the Yang Na nation strode into the great hall Wednesday night, his son and daughter at his side. The powwow had begun.

Under the headdress, 36-year-old Mark Campbell led the procession around the Mid-Valley YMCA’s Van Nuys gymnasium, gathering members of the assembled “tribes” as they marched around a fake fire.

Part powwow, part picnic, the occasion is an annual event designed to attract new members to the Y’s Indian Guides program, recreational groups aimed at parents and their children.

“This year we really tried to push it hard,” Campbell explained, noting that membership in the program dropped significantly after the Northridge earthquake.

“We had a great turnout,” he said of the powwow. “A lot of new parents were there.”

But it wasn’t all hot dogs and potato chips Wednesday night. A Cherokee visitor blessed the assembly and a Navajo father and son danced and sang for the 100 or so parents and children in attendance.

“It teaches them a little bit more than what they see in storybooks,” Campbell said.

Campbell, a Sherman Oaks banker, said the Indian Guides program provides a great opportunity for him to spend time with 8-year-old son, Ryan, and 6-year-old daughter, Erin. As a member of the father-son Winnebago tribe and the father-daughter Fox tribe, he gets a double dose of camp-outs and crafts.

The cost for non-YMCA members is $45 for each parent-child team and $25 for members, Campbell said. For more information, call (818) 989-3800.