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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Powwow practices explored during event at Nett Lake

David Colburn
Posted 9/7/22

NETT LAKE- Nearly 40 Bois Forte Band members from infants to elders descended on the government center in Nett Lake on Aug. 29 for an event that could easily have been titled “Powwow …

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Powwow practices explored during event at Nett Lake

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NETT LAKE- Nearly 40 Bois Forte Band members from infants to elders descended on the government center in Nett Lake on Aug. 29 for an event that could easily have been titled “Powwow 101.”
Bois Forte Cultural Healing Program sponsored the “Powwow Protocol” workshop, which promised to educate attendees on all things powwow, from setting up the grounds and drum keeping, to dancing and the do’s and don’ts of the powwow arena.
Inclement weather forced the event to move inside from the powwow grounds, but the rain certainly didn’t deter people from showing up. Bolstered by free transportation from the Vermilion Reservation provided by Big Woods Transit and the Saving Lives Project, the large turnout was a pleasant surprise to coordinator Payton Counts.
“There was a really good range of people that came from the community,” Counts said. “There were babies, toddlers, kids, teens, early 20s, all the way up to elders. I was really impressed.”
The main focus of at the start of the evening was directed toward the six singers in the drum circle in the center of the room as they performed four different songs, with members taking turns after each to describe the meaning of the songs and some adding personal anecdotes about how a song was connected to some aspect of their lives. Perhaps the most surprising revelation came from singer Terry Goodsky, who told the group that the song they’d just heard was actually two songs in one.
“The guys know all the songs that we sing, and I jacked up the first lead and everybody still backed me up,” Goodsky sheepishly admitted. “Then everybody jumped back into the right song, then Gene (Boshey III) took up the third lead and he did the same thing, but everybody backed him up. We just put two songs together.”
It was a good example of what would be an overarching theme for the rest of the teaching that went on throughout the evening.
“Overall, a lot of the theme of what I heard was that as long as we’re trying and our hearts are in a good place, it’s OK,” Counts said.
Counts noted that what people may have learned about powwow cultural practices can differ depending on who has provided the information and that asking a spiritual advisor for guidance is perfectly acceptable.
“Everyone does things a little differently,” she said, “so what you’re going to learn is going to vary based on who you talk to.”
There was an additional purpose to the event, Counts said, that reflected the goal of the Cultural Healing Program.
“The point of the program is to have more conversations to get more traditional knowledge out there to community members, ultimately with the goal of connecting back with our heritage,” she said. “With a powwow coming up in a couple of weeks, having this introductory event to talk about some of that knowledge that people maybe don’t have, having a space to ask when they aren’t sure who to ask is kind of the point. We’re getting people together for conversations about culture and traditional knowledge so that these things can get passed on.”
In turn, that knowledge helps to solidify a sense of identity and self-worth, Counts said.
“Whenever you understand yourself and your identity, I feel like you’re more sure of yourself as a person,” she said.
There’s a possibility the workshop could be held again at the Vermilion Reservation at a future time, but as Counts moves forward with the Cultural Healing Program, she’ll take her lead from the Band members.
“This is just the start of these conversations,” she said. “It’s not just one event. This is a way to spark people to talk more about (culture) with their families or their friends and be able to learn. The conversation definitely needs to continue.”