Women walk in during the grand entrance of the 44th Annual BSU Powwow hosted by the Council of Indian Students on Saturday in the John Glas Fieldhouse.
BEMIDJI—Hundreds of people in brightly-colored finery will sing, dance and drum Saturday at Bemidji State University’s largest student-led event.
The Council of Indian Students’ 46th annual Powwow starts Saturday afternoon, and organizers expect to draw 250-500 dancers and another 500-plus spectators to the university’s fieldhouse.
The first grand entry starts at 1:30 p.m., and the Leech Lake Honor Guard and other community leaders will proceed into the fieldhouse, group by group. After that, different dancers will perform grass dances, shawl dances and more by category.
There’ll also be dances for anyone to join in.
The powwow’s emcee will be Brandon Bowstring and the host drum will be Big Red.
A second grand entry and dance is scheduled for 7 p.m. In between, attendees can enjoy sandwiches and wild rice soup, the rice for which was donated by the Red Lake and Leech Lake tribal governments. And organizers have planned a special dance for the powwow’s outgoing princess and brave, and dozens contestants could vie for those titles.
“Council of Indian Students has been doing this every single year because it represents the area that Bemidji State is located in and all the people that are involved,” said Chelsey Jourdain, the council’s president.
If you go:
What: The Council of Indian Students’ 46th annual powwow
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18
Where: John Glas Fieldhouse at BSU