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This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending the Gathering of the Season festival in Salamanca. I had been looking forward to attending a powwow ever since we moved to New York state, and this was a great first experience. In the spirit of growing closer to our Native American siblings in and outside of the Presbytery, I figured I would share my experience and some observations about the day with you!
While I was only able to stay for the Grand Entry, the ceremony at the very beginning, I learned so much about Native American culture and practice. One of the first things I got to experience was fry bread! I got mine plain with butter and wow...was it heavenly. The best way I could describe it was if a funnel cake and a hush puppy had a delicious, golden brown bread baby, it would taste like fry bread.
After enjoying my snack, I found a seat and just took everything in. This gathering was centered around a dance competition that included smoke dancing and powwow categories. I did not get to see them compete, but in the Grand Entry I saw the incredible outfits on display. The powwow dancers wore what you might typically associate with Native American ceremonial wear: lots of feathers, head dresses, bells, tassles, etc. But they were not the only outfits around: I watched several young dancers prepare their outfits by layering on ornate clothing items one after the next. They wore dresses, leg coverings, wrist cuffs, headbands, feathers and pelts, beads, and a wide, thick belt.
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