Last Saturday was the 48th annual Pah-Loots-Puu Powwow, Beasley Coliseum was bursting with dancing and drum circles representing many of the tribes in the area. Vendors presenting beadwork, traditional jewelry and clothing featuring Indigenous artwork lined the outer hall.

The event was hosted by the Office of Native American Programs’ student organization, ASWSU Ku-Au-Mah, with the help of students in a class dedicated to planning the event.

The Grand Entry at 1 p.m. featured a presentation of the flags of the United States, Washington State and all tribes in attendance. The outgoing Miss Pah-Loots-Puu, Lanay Chuck LaNaskit, led the dancers in regalia behind the flag bearers around the interior of the drum circles.

President Betsy Cantwell and Provost Chris Riley-Tillman could be found in the parade of dancers, both of whom later spoke about their gratitude to the Indigenous communities who hosted them. 

The drum circles all sang and drummed in turn to introduce themselves as they accompanied an inter tribal dance that invited anyone who wanted to participate onto the Beasley floor. Those in full regalia joined those in street clothes, toddlers joined elders and tribes joined tribes.

Brandon Howell, a second-year WSU psychology student and enrolled member of the Yakima Nation attended the Powwow for a second year in a row. Last year, Howell helped plan the event as part of WSU’s Tribal Nation Leadership Building Program.

Howell said of the powwow, “It’s basically a way of having a bunch of different indigenous peoples come together just for this occasion. And everyone’s just having a good time. Families coming over, you know. And maybe people who haven’t been to this before, they get more exposed to this different culture.” 

The powwow hosted Indigenous Eats, a food truck extension of a Spokane restaurant that serves Native comfort foods with modern twists. Howell enjoyed the Powwow Burger from Indigenous Eats, which is a beef patty in a frybread bun with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and a huckleberry relish.

Indigenous eats boasted a host of frybread-wrapped recipes from tacos to SPAM-wiches. They also had a dessert frybread on their menu that was served with huckleberry syrup and powdered sugar.

Joseph Monohon is a member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and a WSU 2005 alumnus. Monohon was one of the vendors on Saturday, representing their jewelry business, Falls and Feathers.

“I primarily use copper because for Western Washington and along the West Coast, especially for the Coast Salish tribes, copper was our status medal. And I also try to use traditional shells and items that we would use in our regalia, pre-contact and after contact,” Monohon said. 

He spoke about using dentalium shells and his cousin using cedar for paddle earrings, which he was also selling due to their cultural significance. Monohon spoke on collaborating with other artists and being a part of powwows. 

“I’m supporting the community while being a part of the community, and it’s just a wonderful experience to be able to do this. And to share my culture and heritage, not just with the native community. But the greater community and you know, explaining like, what dentalium is and what everything means,” Monohon said.

When asked about how he felt about WSU hosting a powwow, Monohon said he and other alumni hope it continues to grow. 

“I am thrilled there is one, I hope it grows and gets bigger because it’s been kind of small compared to some of the other powwows that I go to at other universities,” he said. “And I think it’s kind of a shame because we have a great venue, and we are a world-renowned university and I love it here and I know that we have one of the better native organizations as far as universities go, especially in the state of Washington. And so I would just like to see that grow.”