The tradition continues

COEUR d’ALENE — American Indian tribes coming together on sacred Coeur d'Alene soil is a tradition that spans many, many generations.

"This is the capital of the Coeur d'Alene Nation," said Quanah Matheseon, Coeur d'Alene Tribe member and cultural affairs director for the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort Hotel. "It's a very important place to powwow, to dance, to sing."

This tradition of togetherness continues this weekend during the 20th Julyamsh Coeur d'Alene Tribal Encampment and Powwow at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

The festivities commenced Thursday with a journey of hand-carved canoes from Worley across Lake Coeur d'Alene to Coeur d'Alene City Beach. A small fleet trekked the choppy waters and arrived to Rose Creek tribal drummers greeting them on the shore.

"It's a return to the practice of canoeing," said Tyrel Stevenson, the Tribe's legislative director.

A Memorial Dance was conducted Thursday during camper's night, powwow director Yvette Matt said, for families to acknowledge those who died in the past year. This is also a time when special names may be assigned.

"It doesn't necessarily have to take place, this is just when we would do those types of ceremonies," Matt said.

The Julyamsh ("Gathering in July") Powwow opens with horse parades at 12:30 p.m. today and Saturday followed by Grand Entries at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Powwow activities will not take place on Sunday this year.

The Grand Entry was once known as the victory dance, for important moments such as when warriors announced their return from the war trail or a successful hunting party came back with plenty to share. It brings the powwow community together in the arena, accompanied by drums, dancing and colorful regalia. Up to 800 dancers are expected at the 2017 Julyamsh, as well as about 30 drum groups. The host drum this year is Bull Horn of the Blood Tribe.

"Every step of the dance, every part of it, every component of the regalia, has some meaning that ties back to the culture and the old lifestyle," Stevenson said.

And the dancing is a huge part of it. Different age categories will compete for hefty prize purses of $1,500, $500 or $400 with top drums taking home $15,000. More than $120,000 will be awarded in cash prizes.

"Dancers enjoy that way of life. They take to it and as time progresses they find they're good at it," said Matheson, who is the Julyamsh emcee. "They get their beadwork just so, their feathers just so and they'll have families help with the regalia ... It's a pretty good circuit."

Dancers and drummers are expected to come from all 50 states. Tribal artisans with unique crafts, food concessions and vendors of other goods will be also be on site.

Matt said one of the best parts of Julyamsh is seeing loved ones she only gets to see once a year.

"I've been doing this about 10 years or so, and it's cool because you'll see a lot of the same faces," Matt said. "It's a huge sense of accomplishment and pride to know we all work together to make this happen. When people leave, they're leaving happy and they got to see their family and friends."

Julyamsh, tagged as the largest powwow in the Northwest, serves many purposes, from reflecting upon and honoring the past to educating the community at large about the American Indian culture.

"From my perspective, being Coeur d'Alene, when you look at the history of our people and you visualize the hardships we've been through and everything we've been through to find prosperity within the modern world and in the same time still keep our traditions alive, struggling to keep our language ... It's a high honor to be here (in Coeur d'Alene) to dance and sing.

"The highest thing I hope it brings is a celebration together. We're all Americans, we just have different pasts."

SIDEBAR/PULLOUT:

If you go: Admission to Julyamsh is $10 for adults and free for those 12 and younger. It is only at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds for two days this year. For info, visit www.julyamsh.com.