Personal Narrative: Pow Wow

On Saturday, I have attended a Pow Wow that was happening at the California State University of Long Beach. I knew what kind of event it was because this was my second time attending one. At the first Pow Wow, I was able to take the opportunity to volunteer for them and helped them out with the resting area for the dancers and other miscellaneous tasks. I also had the chance to walk around and explore what was provided and stayed at the event until the end. It has been over two years since I had gone to the first Pow Wow so I was excited to see once again the beauty and the uniqueness of the Native Americans and their culture. For this Pow Wow, I was able to bring Grandpa and my parents so that they can experience another culture with me
The holy drum and the people around it began the tempo and started to chant and sing. Then the outer circle which I’m assuming are the dancers who began to shake what it looks like a shaker and goes along with the tempo. During the song, they would eventually stand up from their chairs and start moving around the circle slowly dancing and shaking their shakers. When the song gets louder and stronger the beat, they would stop and lift their heels up as they shake their shakers harder. They were all holding a big feather with their left hand while holding the shaker with their right. They were also wearing a blue-red blanket over their shoulders. What I also noticed was that only the men were able to participate while the women were making the least amount of movements other than their legs or knees. I am not quite sure if this is part of the Gourd Dance, but then I saw that they began to gather close to each other and in front of one elder they began to drop money in front of his feet and said something to him, then started forming a long line next to him. It wasn’t just the dancers but also other people including women began to do the same process. My group and I were confused about why this was happening during a dance, but from what I was listening, it seems like it was to support and to honor that elder. In my Korean culture, just dropping money in front of someone older, then it is disrespectful but for the Native
Before we ordered food, I saw two types of food they people were ordering. One was called an Indian taco and another one was called a frybread. We ordered two Indian tacos and I personally liked it especially the frybread. This frybread can be a desert as well if you put honey or anything else as if it was a combination of crepe and funnel cake As we walked around the vendors, we saw varieties of items that they were selling including jewelry, instruments, bags, clothes, decorations, accessories, and other miscellaneous items that my dad and Grandpa bought in the end. They both bought a sturdy and well-made slingshot which reminded them of their childhood days in Korea which I did not want to participate at all. I personally wanted to buy some jewelry but it took me too long to decide so, in the end, I lost my chance and had to go back