Northern Colorado Intertribal
Powwow (NCIP)

On April ninth and tenth of this year, the Northern Colorado Intertribal Powwow will unite Native Americans from dozens of nations and welcome individuals from all cultures to share Native American foods, dances, music, and arts. This year marks the thirteenth year of the powwow, which will be held at the Larimer County Fairgrounds First National Bank Exhibition Hall, a new, expanded venue large enough to house the two thousand or more dancers, singers, arts and crafts vendors, and spectators who have made this a standing-room-only event since its origins in 1993.

“For Native Americans, this is a big family reunion,” says Jan Iron, vice-president, committee member, and co-founder of the Northern Colorado Intertribal Powwow Association (NCIPA). “A lot of us are far away from our reservations. This is a time when we can all come together to sing, to dance, to carry on our cultural traditions, and to teach these traditions to our children.”

Powwows typically include ground blessings, grand entries, competitions for dancers and singers, performances, and opportunities to undergo initiations. Once a person is initiated in a particular dance, for example, he or she earns the right to dance that dance at any powwow or gathering. The NCIPA’s powwow is no exception, offering a rich mixture of history, pageantry, family fun, and education.

The NCIPA powwow also provides an Indian Market featuring Native American artists. Shoppers will find a wide variety of traditional and contemporary treasures and collectibles, including turquoise and silver jewelry, beadwork, pottery, paintings, rugs, masks, t-shirts, photographs, cds and tapes, books, and beading supplies.

This powwow’s origins go back to 1992. That year, when CSU students sought more ownership of their own powwow, Iron and others who had contributed to the CSU event in the past were inspired to create a new powwow designed to appeal to – and serve – a broader community. “I invited a few people to meet and talk about starting something new. I was shocked when more that thirty people showed up.” These thirty people, and others, helped to form the NCIPA.

The powwow received a big boost when they were awarded a Folk Arts Mini-Grant by the Colorado Council on the Arts (CCA) in 2000. This small grant allowed the NCIPA to expand the Gourd Dance Ceremony, a traditional Kiowa ceremony honoring and featuring veterans of warfare. The Gourd Dance has become a special part of the powwow that people look forward to and remember. And the relationship with the Arts Council has continued to play a key role, providing annual organizational grants for the all-volunteer powwow.

“The grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts is consistently the largest grant of the year; it makes the powwow happen,” Iron states. “More than that, it’s a real source of encouragement; knowing that CCA believes in what we’re doing gives us the motivation to continue.”

And what they’re doing receives remarkable praise. Colorado folklorist Georgia Wier has this to say about the event: “The powwows have continued to be extraordinarily well-produced events with new, inspiring themes each year. Senior citizens as well as tiny tots participate in the music and the dance at this powwow. It's a marvelous opportunity for active participants as well as for the general public of northern Colorado. Everyone is welcomed to enjoy the music, the dance, the food, and the other arts.”

“We’re open to anyone. We welcome everyone,” Iron agrees. Just last year, she was checking out at Wal-Mart when the clerk, a young woman, stopped her. “Are you the one that helps put on that powwow? I want to thank you and your committee. Do you remember that man in the wheelchair with the oxygen tank who used to volunteer for you? He was my father. Even though he was sick, that powwow was something he always looked forward to. He loved to talk with people, to listen to the songs and the drum. He passed away a few weeks after the powwow. The powwow was one of the last things he enjoyed.”

Iron remembered the man, one of the many non-Native Americans who have found a sense of community at the NCIPA’s powwow. “I told his daughter that we would remember her father in our opening ceremonies, along with other friends and family members who have died this year.”

Iron is proof that it’s never too late to go to your first powwow. “I wasn’t brought up attending them. I’m Navajo, and powwows aren’t within our tribal traditions, but my husband Bob’s tribes, Crow and Pawnee, are steeped in the powwow; he got me interested and actively involved, and he’s been an invaluable advisor to our committee.”

Today, Iron is a great spokesperson for her adopted tradition: “I feel so proud that people believe in this; our committee and our families put so much into it, from our heart, because we believe in it. When it all comes together, when you hear that first drumbeat, when the Spiritual Advisor gives the ground blessing, when you watch children being given the right to dance or sing -- it’s overwhelming. It’s all so wonderful.”