What is a Powwow?

It begins with the drum. At first the beats are soft, like a distant memory, gradually becoming strong and clear. They are rhythmic, like the beating of a heart. The drum, it is said, is the heartbeat of our Mother Earth.

Perhaps that is why the drum resonates within us in a way that is difficult to describe and impossible to ignore.

The Master of Ceremonies addresses the audience in a voice charged with pride and excitement. “Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise; gentlemen, please remove your hats as we honor the flags of our Nations”.

The first flag is not a flag at all. It is an Eagle Staff, wrapped in the fur of a buffalo, adorned with eagle feathers that each hold a story, a song, a gift. It is carried by a U.S. Marine Viet Nam Veteran whose dance regalia pays homage to the country he fought for. The staff he carries honors a heritage much older than the United States.

It is Grand Entry at the Children of Many Colors Powwow in Moorpark, California. Native American dancers enter the arena as one flowing, swirling, swaying sea of color, sound and motion.

Chumash, Kumeyaay, Cheyenne, Apache, Pauite, Shoshone, Navajo and Inuit, the dancers enter the arena. Kiowa, Blackfoot, Pomo and Lakota, they dance the dances of their ancestors. Aztec, Iroquois, Cherokee and Ojibwe, they dance to the beat of the powwow drum and the voices of the singers, clear and strong, their drumsticks in unison, their hearts proud. Every corner of the western hemisphere is here, dancing, keeping alive the culture of the sovereign nations of the Americas.

Southern California boasts one of the largest populations of American Indian people on the continent. However invisible they seem on the streets, in the workplace or in the shopping mall, they cannot be mistaken now. Native people have not vanished quietly into the pages of history. At gatherings like this, held all across the country throughout the year, they come together in a powerful way.

On the third weekend of July, the athletic field at Moorpark College is transformed as the Children of Many Colors Powwow returns. Vendors selling Native American jewelry, pottery, arts and crafts form an outer circle with their booths. The smell of favorite foods such as Indian Tacos and frybread fill the air, and for three days, Native American people celebrate.

The gathering is hosted by Redbird, a non profit Native American and environmental association which celebrates fifteen years of service to the community in 2009.

The Children of Many Colors Powwow owes its name and its philosophy to the wisdom of an elder from the Onondaga Nation, Oren Lyons. Collectively known to most as the Iroquois, the nations of the east coast offered much of the political wisdom that today is embodied in our Constitution, and Lyons’ own words were the inspiration for the powwow.

At a speaking engagement at Claremont College in 1994, Lyons said “Every woman is a mother, and every man an uncle, to every child, no matter what color they are”. Those words resonated with Redbird’s founding members, and the Children of Many Colors Powwow was born.

Honoring the true intention of those words, Redbird’s powwow serves two important functions. It is, first and foremost, a gathering where cultural traditions and values are kept alive and vibrant through participation. Parents will introduce their children to the arena for the first time. Adults who have not been raised in a tribal way will find the courage to ask questions, meet people, and step into the circle. Honorings will take place for the sick, the grieving, the elderly, the warriors returning from battle, and the very young.

For three days, the powwow serves a second vital function. It is a doorway that welcomes people of all ethnicities, all ages, and all walks of life to step through, leaving prejudice and fear on the other side. It is a lesson in living culture, live and unscripted, real and unrehearsed. Visitors can do more than shop and watch the dancers. There are special social and intertribal dances that welcome everyone into the arena to experience, first hand, the power of the circle.

A powwow is both market place and meeting place, social gathering and ceremony. Redbird’s powwow is what is commonly referred to as an intertribal gathering, where people come to dance for the sheer pleasure of doing so, as opposed to a contest powwow, where handsome prizes can be won by the best dancers.

Visitors will find a friendly atmosphere, vendors selling jewelry, pottery, clothing, arts, crafts and craft supplies, and favorite foods such as Indian Tacos and frybread. The Children of Many Colors Powwow is a family event, and the admission is very reasonable; Redbird asks a $2.00 per vehicle donation, with no passenger limit.

Recreational vehicles will find ample parking on the campus above the powwow grounds, and friendly campus staff throughout the weekend.

As an added bonus, Moorpark College has a show of its own on Saturday complete with birds and mammals from around the world. The college is home to EATM, the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program, more recently coined “America’s Teaching Zoo”. Powwow visitors can enjoy two very different experiences on Saturday afternoon, when the EATM staff have their weekly public performance with a wide array of wild and exotic animals.


Redbird’s Children of Many Colors Powwow
July 17-19, 2009
Friday Evening 6 p.m. Potluck and Open Flute Circle
Saturday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Gourd Dancing and Intertribal Powwow
Sunday 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Gourd Dancing and Intertribal Powwow
Moorpark College Athletic Field
7075 Campus Road, Moorpark, California 93021
For further information go to http://www.RedbirdsVision.org
Or email redbirds_vision [at] hotmail.com
Telephone (805) 217-0364
Or by mail: Redbird, P.O. Box 702, Simi Valley, CA 93062