The
Mohican Pow wow was being held during my 2016 stay in the USA. About three years ago, we had
attended the Pow Wow in Milwaukee – see An Indian Summer Pow-Pow - an Indian’s view of other Indians
on this blog site. We had really enjoyed that experience so we decided to go to
the Mohican Pow Wow!
To say we
were thoroughly disappointed, after driving miles to a field out in the
boondocks, is to understate it. This Pow Wow is held apparently yearly. I think
due to its strange location in the middle of nowhere, and where GPS does not
work, it does not help in increasing its popularity. I have taken parts from
their own literature to add more meaning to a listless event.
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| One of five dancers in this huge circle! |
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| The main table ! |
Whereas
Milwaukee’s event was a 5 star Pow Wow event being crowded full of thousands of
visitors and Indians, continuous activities for the people by the people,
dances, stalls selling beautifully made fancy items and foods, this place was a
one star show. There were around 20 to 25 stalls selling mediocrity except for
two stalls having quality souvenirs. There was a huge circle created on the
side – one part had benches and chairs for the visitors. The other side, folk
just sat on the grass. There was a feeling of emptiness. Now, for this
sized circle, you need a few dozen dancers to fill it to the expectations of
the audience. Here we had 5 to 8 dancers coming on for the various events on
which they were judged by their own peers walking round adjudicating. They were
at a distance from the viewers.
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| Babies are always cute! |
t
What struck
me was that many of them appeared to be white folk – maybe married to a Mohican or
Indians but did that make them eligible to dance in a Mohican Pow wow ?? I think I
was more eligible being a true blue blooded Indian!!
In addition, the dances were not true to tradition. They were more a shuffle or a grind! Possibly as the dancers, many of them, no longer resembled their fine fit warriors of the past who were at one time the most feared Indians in America – the stuff of legend. These gentle folk were brought up on fast food, alcohol and bad habits. They were trying to relive a glorious past but not making any effort at genuine performance other than a few in fancy feathered attire. That does not a true Mohican make, in my view – which I did not express locally!!
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| Awaiting the judges decision |
We stayed
for nearly two hours, walked the whole perimeter, saw all the stalls but were not
motivated to buy anything due to the mediocrity on sale; and then with the sun
beating down ferociously, we eventfully decided to retreat to cooler climes –
the AC of the car going back home.
I do hope that the Mohican community will evaluate their Pow Wow vs others taking place and take a serious view to improvement of the event and bring back the glory to their famous tribe.
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| Tourist stuff on sale. |
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| One of the two really good craftsmen selling drums at the event |
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| A view from the car park of the event hosting the Pow Wow. |
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
What struck
me was that many of them appeared to be white folk – maybe married to a Mohican or
Indians but did that make them eligible to dance in a Mohican Pow wow ?? I think I
was more eligible being a true blue blooded Indian!! 
In addition, the dances were not true to tradition. They were more a shuffle or a grind! Possibly as the dancers, many of them, no longer resembled their fine fit warriors of the past who were at one time the most feared Indians in America – the stuff of legend. These gentle folk were brought up on fast food, alcohol and bad habits. They were trying to relive a glorious past but not making any effort at genuine performance other than a few in fancy feathered attire. That does not a true Mohican make, in my view – which I did not express locally!!
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Text and photographs are copyright of the author. No part of any article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com