Powwow attracts thousands

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The Gathering of Nations was held April 25 to 27 at The Pit in Albuquerque. The three-day event included the Miss Indian World contest, Indian Traders' Market and North America's biggest powwow.

As the people entered the Pit, they were pleasantly soothed with live music from Robert Tree Cody who played the Indian Flute and by Primo and Mike who won at the American Music Awards.

The Pit is an "underground" arena at the University of New Mexico that seats 18,000. Gathering of Nations was a sold out event. During the powwow, the emcee announced there were still 7,000 people outside without tickets.

The Canadian participants in the Miss Indian World contest did exceptionally well, taking home the Miss Indian World title and runner-up. The new Miss Indian World is Tia Smith from the Cayuga Wolf Clan, Six Nations, Ont. and the runner-up is Kinwa Bluesky, an Ojibwa from Ontario who is currently a law student at the University of Victoria.

Free Spirit,a bald eagle, sat perched on a man's arm and led the Grand Entry. Also, dancers streamed onto the floor from the four cardinal directions, eventually filling the entire floor space with feathers and dancers and jingle bells and the sound of drumming and singing. There were three to four thousand dancers at the powwow.

The Indian Trader's Market was held on the edges of the Pit, outside in Powwow Alley and under a huge bigtop tent. Traditional foods such as fried bread, Indian tacos, corn, popcorn and barbequed turkey legs were in abundance. Thousands of Indian trade goods, arts and crafts were available that ranged in price and quality. Next year's Gathering of Nations will be held April 24 to 26. Tickets can be purchased in advance be calling (505) 836-2810 or online at www.gatheringofnations.com.