'Celebrate our life': Montana State powwow celebrates and preserves Indigenous heritage

Colorful regalia filled the stands of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Friday night. Aunties adjusted jewelry and pinned feathers into the hair of younger girls. Men made sure their headdresses were on tight.

The call for all dancers to make their way to the floor for the Grand Entry saw a flurry of excitement as hundreds of dancers took their places. With that, the 50th annual American Indian Council Powwow at Montana State University began.

A powwow is a social and cultural gathering of Native American people, often bringing together different tribes for an event that includes singing, dancing and drumming. They hold deep significance for Native American communities, serving as an opportunity for celebration, storytelling and the preservation of heritage.

“It’s a time for our community and our relatives to come together to celebrate our life that we have,” said Watson Whitford, the social chair for the American Indian Council and an environmental horticulture student at MSU.

The two-day celebration at MSU included singing and dancing contests in various styles and for various ages, as well as a royalty pageant. The powwow is one of the largest in the state, and organizers expected it could be the largest powwow to have taken place at MSU.

Tribes were in attendance from across the country and Canada.

For Whitford, it means a lot to be a part of hosting a powwow of this size on his own school’s campus, a place, he said, where Indigenous people don’t always have the largest representation.

There’s a lot happening at the powwow that Whitford said may make those who are not Indigenous curious to learn more, something he believes can help continue to build relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

“Hopefully the vibes and the prayers that are said and felt here can be spread to the further community of Bozeman for healing, for happiness, for enjoyment,” said Whitford.