The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian’s first-ever Indigenous Peoples’ Day Powwow was celebrated on Oct. 14th at the ETHS Fieldhouse. The celebration works to bring everyone together to recognize and learn about the community in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. The event contained an artist market, information booths, indigenous foods and singing and dancing. This event was free and open to the public so that people could be more exposed to the culture and students could enjoy the special day. Indigenous Peoples Day honors the history and culture of the Natives peoples past, present and future.
The event was hosted by the museum. One of the inspirations for the collaboration with ETHS was due to Nimkii Curley, an ETHS graduate who was refused the right to walk with his regalia—a powerful form of self-expression and a sacred item used by Indigenous people—at his 2022 graduation. He made a powerful move to instead give up his right to walk the stage and since then he has made it his mission to correct the ways of these rules and make people feel more comfortable in their culture.
“This is a celebration of the progress that has been made since that moment,” Development Director Joseph Gackstetter said. ETHS and the museum came together for the powwow to show how far not only ETHS but high schools all around Illinois have come and changed their ways so Indigenous students can represent themselves fully and be comfortable in their background.
“This is our way of expressing our culture,” said Olivia Antonio, small business owner of LivLovesBeading, which sells handmade Indigenous jewelry. Antonio explains that most Native people created jewelry as decoration, accessories and ceremonial purposes. Jewelry is important to Indigenous people because you can express yourself using the jewelry but still connect to their culture.
This event was filled with people embracing the traditional clothes of indigenous people. Maritz Garcie was in a handmade healing dress at the celebration.
¨We carry this dress for good feelings and to heal¨ Garcie said. When members dance in the healing dress it releases healing into the ceremony or more commonly the Powwow. For Garcie, the dress makes her have an important role in the Indigenous ceremonies and carries everyone’s prayers and good thoughts.
The Indigenous Day Powwow at ETHS showed families the history of Native Americans and the traditional culture they still spread and teach today. Everyone at the festival was not scared to embrace a part of them that has been hidden in the past.
