Pow Wow!

When I asked Colleen and Dennis if they would be interested in going to the Pow Wow with us on Sunday, I was surprised to hear that Colleen had never been to one. We picked them up a little after ten this morning and went across the Verde River bridge to the fairgrounds. The Fort McDowell  Yavapai Nation celebrates the Orme Dam Victory Days with a Pow Wow and a Rodeo. The event celebrates the Yavapai Nation's victory in a ten year fight with the Interior Department that wanted to build the Orme Dam at the confluence of the Salt and Verde Rivers which would have created a reservoir flooding more than half of their reservation.

We were plenty early and after scouting out the situation under the big tent where the dancing was going to be held, we decided to drive the three miles back to the RV Park and get our lawn chairs. There were metal bleachers set up at each end, but the rest of the seating was all private lawn chairs. We just couldn't see any of us sitting in the backless bleachers for very long.

We set our chairs up, then went out to explore the vender area - and get some fry bread! There were four or five booths selling fry bread and various versions of mutton stew and Indian tacos. The one we got our fry bread at was also barbecuing strips of lamb for their dinner plate that also included corn on the cob, salad and a roasted poblano pepper. It smelled so good, but was way more food than we wanted so early in the morning.

We ate our fry bread - with powdered sugar and honey - then wandered back over to the tent where the drums were starting. This Pow Wow was a bit different then some of the others we have seen. In addition to the usual Grand Entry and the Honors for Veterans, they had a hand drum competition where the groups of three to five drummers each sang two songs. It was fun to see the groups borrowing hand drums from each other. The other novel competition was a team dance competition. Several teams of again three to five dancers, of all different styles and both genders competed. The winner was a group of lovely female Jingle Dancers. We chatted a bit later with one of the male group dancers (his car was parked next to ours). He said the groups were put together last night and had never actually danced together until the first dance of the contest! He laughed and said they did a lot better during the second dance of the set when they had a better idea of what they were doing.

After the colors were retired, we headed back to the Casino and ate dinner at their Cafe 87. It was an enjoyable way to spend our last day with Dennis and Colleen as they are leaving tomorrow morning for their next vending show in Cave Creek.