Spirit of the Wolf Powwow celebrates tribal heritage.
LEEDS -The smell of burning sage filled the air Saturday at Riverbend Campground, as men in fringed buckskin trousers used eagle feathers to fan smoke onto dancers preparing to enter the performance circle.
The smudge, as the smoke from the burnt herbs is called, is designed to purify participants, collecting negative energy and dispelling it to the four directions.
When they had been sufficiently protected, the dancers lined up for the Grand Entry, the heart of each day’s festivities at the sixth annual Spirit of the Wolf Indian Powwow.
Small children and teens joined the line, as did a few octogenarians. Some were decked out in full regalia – feathers, buckskins, moccasins, beads, bells and face paint – while others wore a mishmash of contemporary and traditional garb.
Heavy work boots were as common as bare feet. Slick, ultramodern sunglasses accompanied loincloths. Blue jeans and shorts were paired with colorful fringed shirts.
Among the seemingly endless line of dancers were silver-streaked heads of hair that appeared to have once been raven black, as well curly locks of red and gold, and even an impressive afro. Most dancers draw only a small portion of their heritage from the first Americans, owing their most prominent features to the European members of the family.
Tina Rose, a mother of two from Phillips, is proud of both her Mic-Mac and Scottish heritage. She has been attending both powwows and highland festivals throughout New England for nearly a decade.
“I wanted my sons to always know about this stuff. I don’t want them to forget their heritage. It’s a miracle it hasn’t all been lost,” Rose said.
While many of the hundreds of attendees Saturday morning could trace a degree of American Indian heritage to some relative, either recent or distant, not everyone at the annual powwow could claim even a drop of native blood. Some, like John LaFosse of Portland, just find the experience of attending a powwow entertaining and educational.
“This event is a lot different from the other community gatherings I’ve been to,” said LaFosse.
“It’s quite peaceful. There’s an air of respect and courtesy. There’s no one pushing other people out of the way to get to food or attractions.”
“This is a great event for families and children,” said this year’s powwow organizer, Rick Belhumer of Bar Harbor.
“It’s cultural. It’s spiritual. It’s educational. We try to teach people about our heritage. Plus, the fact that it’s drug- and alcohol-free makes it very family-oriented.”
Regardless of their clothing or racial makeup, all the dancers stepped into the circle in time to the music of one of this year’s three host drums – The Red Willow Singers, The Walking Bear Singers and Black Thunder. “Drum” is powwow lingo for the band that accompanies dancers.
Once the Grand Entry concluded, Belhumer placed the Eagle Staff – a curved, canelike staff covered in feathers that served as the flag of the a united group of tribes before the land was colonized – in a place of honor.
After that, one of the drums played an American Indian-flavored rendition of “Soldier Boy,” complete with mournful wails and trilling, in honor of America’s servicemen and women, as the veterans in the group danced around the circle.
Vendors – or traders, as they’re called in the powwow circuit – surrounded the perimeter of the campground, hawking their wares. Beaded and feathered jewelry, fiber arts, leatherwork, pottery, carvings, dolls, bows, arrows and spears made up just a few of the items for sale.
Animal pelts – the faces of coyote and fox, as well as an entire skin of a massive black bear – sat in booths next to antlers, skulls, raccoon tails, empty turtle shells, shark teeth, entire wings of various birds and the forelegs of deer.
Modern items, like key chains and bumper stickers featuring slogans like “Proud to Be Mic-Mac,” also proliferated.
Few of the hands behind sellers’ tables are still for more than a moment. As they talk with potential customers, most traders work steadily, punching leather, weaving baskets and engaging in all manners of other crafts to replace sold stock.
For most of the traders, the powwow season, which extends each year from early spring through mid-autumn, becomes a way of life. Each weekend is spent at a different New England camp or fairground.
Former Mainers, Robert “Flying Eagle” Pelotte and his wife, Ruth “Snowbird” Pelotte, now make their home in Connecticut but spend most of their summers on the road.
“We go clear up to the Canadian border. We used to go out to Kentucky, but now we mostly stay in New England,” Robert said.
Both of the Pelottes claim native ancestry.
“I got a great-grandmother that’s Abenaki, and (Ruth) has Penobscot and Saskatchewan in her,” Robert said.
The couple began attending powwows recreationally several years ago, becoming traders after Robert injured himself and was no longer able to work. And while selling jewelry and art to visitors eager to own a piece of American Indian culture is a large part of the couple’s income, Robert says he and his wife gain more than monetary satisfaction.
“There is a real feeling of togetherness. When we go to a powwow, it’s like one big family,” he says.
Many traders donate items to the powwow auction, which, since the annual festival was founded six years ago, has always gone to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation. Last year’s auction raised more than $800 for the organization, which grants wishes for terminally ill children.
“The powwow is spiritual. It’s about going to my culture to find out who and what I am,” says George “Painted Raven” Castonguay, a Jay-based artist whose heritage includes a Lakota grandfather.
“But, to me, the most important part is contributing to Make a Wish.”
In keeping with that sentiment, Castonguay donated a moose’s horn he painted with a landscape scene. The piece sold for more than $100.
Others lined up to offer to donate bone marrow to a Lewiston girl who is half Mic-Mac.
“Anyone from a minority group has a much harder time finding a match. Hopefully, we’ll have a better chance of finding someone who can help her at an event like this,” says Michelle Barker, a representative from the National Bone Marrow Registry.
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