Arlee Celebration: Following the footprints of elders
The flag-song portion of Saturday afternoon's grand entry brought male dancers in their finest powwow regalia on to the floor at the Arlee Powwow grounds. (Max Dupras/Leader)
A woman watches the dancers during grand entry at the annual Arlee Celebration. (Max Dupras/Leader)
Member of drum group is poised to begin a song in the smaller pavilion of the Arlee Powwow. (Max Dupras/Leader)
A little girl spreads her shawl, decorated with two pink birds, in the summer breeze while wandering between the food stalls at the Arlee Celebration. (Max Dupras/Leader)
Arlee welcomed hundreds of onlookers and dancers to the powwow grounds June 29-July 2 to celebrate the 123rd annual Arlee Esyapqeyni Celebration. Grand entry for the powwow was 1 p.m. July 1-2 and 7 p.m. June 30-July 2.
The powwow offered an electric display of dancing. On Saturday, the event started with the grand entry, an exhibition of dancers carrying tribal and state flags, the American flag and the Canadian flag. Then, the dancers circled the arena clockwise in order of the type of dancer, with the young boy and girl dancers entering last.
After the grand-entry song, the flag song, and the invocation, dancing began. The male dancers, competing in five different age groups, started the day with the grass dance, the traditional dance and the fancy dance. The women began with the fancy shawl dance, followed by the jingle dress dance and the traditional dance. Dancers compete over the span of the powwow, with finals on July 2.
Regalia ranged from beautiful beaded headwear with small beaded curtains draping over a dancer's eyes to the eagle feathers adorning headdresses of many male dancers.
On Saturday, the pavilion was packed with audience members, taking in the rhythmic singing and drumming, with two different drum groups trading off between each dance. The groups playing on Saturday were Black Lodge and Blackstone.
And, if the dancing wasn’t enough, the food sold by vendors was bountiful, with everything from Baskin Robbins to local lemonade and frybread stands enticing visitors and dancers alike. Native vendors also offered handmade clothing, jewelry and toys.
Nonprofit groups were at the powwow as well, including All Nations Health Center and the Montana Two Spirit Society, providing resources for the health and well-being of the many attendees.
For 123 years, native people have gathered in Arlee to dance and celebrate their traditions. This year’s powwow welcomed hundreds of dancers from as far as the eastern provinces of Canada.
Multiple days of dancing culminated in the Snake Dance on July 4. Traditionally done to start a war dance, the Snake Dance is one of 20 dances one could see during the weekend’s festivities.
As the dancing continued and the water bottles ran dry in the 90-degree heat on July 1, the powwow festivities continued to blaze with families, couples and dancers taking the heat and putting on a show during a packed weekend.
