By Disha Rao • Central Jersey Group
This summer, I had the privilege of attending the Raritan Native American Heritage Celebration & Pow Wow in East Brunswick. The event was hosted by the Redhawk Native American Arts Council of New York and New Jersey. For many, a pow wow is a Native American community event that involves a coming together of different tribes. They trade, socialize, dance, and sing. However, not many truly understand the deep cultural and spiritual significance of pow wows, or how intimately their ceremonies are connected to nature and serve as a celebration of life on Earth.
I had the opportunity to sit down with David Chavez, a respected member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, to explore the spiritual relationship between pow wows and Native American ways of life.
To genuinely understand the Indigenous worldview and perspective, one must see the world differently from the way one views things in our individualistic, transactional, and performance-driven Western culture.
The Native American worldview takes a long-term approach to living, being, and healing. It offers something difficult to access in cultures dominated by instant gratification, material gains, and short-term thinking.
Among the Iroquois—a North American confederation also known as the Haudenosaunee, or People of the Longhouse—there is a philosophy that the choices we make today should benefit the seven coming generations and honor the seven previous generations. Often associated with environmental sustainability, the Seven Generations Principle also urges us to consider how our current use of natural resources will affect the long-term health of our land, water, and ecosystems.
This principle is aptly explained by Linda Black Elk, an ethnobotanist with the Catawba Tribe:
“Native Americans know more about the environment than many because we don’t just live here and struggle to survive; we participate with the Earth, with the animals, and the plants. We are not separate from them; they are our relatives. They take care of us, and we take care of them.”
This concept permeates Indigenous life and culture, underpinning ceremonies such as pow wows. The annual festival, which takes on many forms and is celebrated in different parts of North America, weaves together nature (Earth and its creatures), tradition, and people in a type of community of spirit. This elevates the pow wow from a social event to a symbolic union that celebrates and honors the delicate balance of life on this Earth.
Pow wows are not only opportunities for tribes to gather and sustain their communities; they are also vital spaces for passing down shared traditions and practices to younger generations. Breaking it down, the cultural symbolism of the regalia—colors, patterns, use of feathers, and dance styles—helps to recount stories of the land, history, and people. They help remind people of the importance of interconnectedness, reciprocity, and participation.
For example, the Jingle Dress Dance has always been a powerful channel for spiritual healing for individuals and the community. The jingles are metal cones woven into the fabric of the dress worn by the dancers. The sound of the jingles is often considered analogous to the sound of falling rain, signifying cleansing, renewal, and the life-nurturing power of water. Each jingle is thought to carry a prayer, a benediction, or a healing thought, collectively creating a powerful wave of positive energy. The dance patterns—zigzags, circles, figure-eights—represent life’s journey, the interrelation of all things, and the path to healing. Women honor nature as they dance, and dancing lightly is not only symbolic of healing but also a sign of respect for Mother Earth.
We were meant to live connected to the natural world—not to use it but to live in partnership with it. My opportunity to visit the Raritan Native American Heritage Celebration & Pow Wow, hosted by the Redhawk Native American Arts Council, left a lasting impression on me. Mondays usually find me in the grip of blues and anxiety, but after the weekend pow wow, I realized I was somehow more at ease at the start of the week. I wondered if it was because I was exposed to something spiritual, communal, and grounding.
Resources
The Seventh Generation: https://tinyurl.com/mvbk3v2b
Lessons from Indigenous People: https://tinyurl.com/564uxrp5