Natives at Penn held its 15th annual powwow at Houston Hall on Sunday.
The April 26 event was co-hosted by the Albert M. Greenfield Intercultural Center and ran from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Programming — free and open to the public — featured performances and artwork by Indigenous groups and vendors.
In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, College first-year and Natives at Penn powwow committee member Brendan Bell wrote that the event provides “great outreach to the Philadelphia community and the Penn community.”
“While the pow wow is for the Penn community to experience a glimpse of the native community in Philadelphia, the event is also for [the] native community to come together and have fun,” Bell added.
The Grand Entry, a traditional opening procession featuring flags and music, ushered in the day’s programming at noon. Scheduled activities took place each hour of the event, with exhibition and intertribal dancing interspersed throughout the afternoon.
According to Bell, the event created a space for a wide range of Indigenous communities to gather. He added that the powwow was the first time he has been “surrounded by a diverse array of native tribes and communities in a collective space.”
The event offered attendees “a chance to support Native artists and creators” by engaging with and purchasing their work.
The powwow hosted 11 Native and Indigenous vendors who each donated an item to the event’s raffle. There were also informational booths where attendees could learn more about Indigenous communities.
RELATED:
PVP hosts annual initiative to raise awareness about interpersonal violence
Penn Museum opens new Native North America Gallery developed alongside Indigenous curators
Natives at Penn also held a fundraiser supporting Kākoʻo Mai — a nonprofit launched in March by the Hawaiian council to coordinate emergency relief efforts for communities affected by flooding earlier this year. The group collaborated with the Penn Hawaiʻi Youth Foundation on the fundraiser and invited its members to perform hula, a traditional Hawaiian dance, during the powwow.
Bell, who is from Hawaii, expressed that this initiative was a “nice way” to include his culture “within the broader native community in Philadelphia.”
Natives at Penn has hosted a spring powwow at the University annually since 2010, reviving a tradition that had not taken place at Penn since 1993.
Beyond the powwow, Natives at Penn hosts Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrations, supports undergraduate and graduate programming, and participates in intercollegiate events — such as the Ivy Native Conference.
Bell also emphasized the role of the Greenfield Intercultural Center — which houses Natives at Penn — as a space intended to foster belonging. He wrote that the center “is meant to be every Penn student’s home away from home.”
Programming included a senior goodbye for graduating members of Natives at Penn.
