Diversity: The Powwow Experience
The captivating sounds of drums, and passionate voices singing, as I walked into the Alaskan Airlines Arena, will forever be embedded into my memory. My words will never give this music its rightful justice. Therefore, I highly recommend that everyone, at least once, attend a Powwow, and experience this incredible music for themselves.
Although this was a class assignment, my wife and children came along with me. I thought it was a good way for us to enhance our cultural awareness, and experience a culture different from our own. I was not disappointed. Immediately, I felt a sense of pride and honor as I walked in, and talked to individuals inside the arena. Many of these people had booths set up and were selling handmade merchandise, which my wife and children absolutely loved. For instance, my wife fell in love with a Dreamcatcher, or as I was told by …show more content…
Although the culture may seem different by appearance (the music and traditional attire) there were several similarities. In the beginning, the man (I apologize, but the microphone was staticky at the beginning and I missed his name) thanked the veterans and led the audience in the National Anthem. The respect and gratitude he showed towards veterans and the military, reminded me a lot of myself. Being a veteran, the respect and admiration I have for the military goes unwavering. Interestingly enough, the American flag was raised higher than the tribal flags, which means to me that they value being an American, as well as, being Native. Another similarity was in the beginning, he had us shake hands with our neighbors and introduce ourselves. This reminded me of a Christian church service, as a way of being good neighbors. Furthermore, the Tribe seemed to be very patriarchal, as it is within my culture. I noticed only men were in the band, and that men were introduced first followed by women and
The captivating sounds of drums, and passionate voices singing, as I walked into the Alaskan Airlines Arena, will forever be embedded into my memory. My words will never give this music its rightful justice. Therefore, I highly recommend that everyone, at least once, attend a Powwow, and experience this incredible music for themselves.
Although this was a class assignment, my wife and children came along with me. I thought it was a good way for us to enhance our cultural awareness, and experience a culture different from our own. I was not disappointed. Immediately, I felt a sense of pride and honor as I walked in, and talked to individuals inside the arena. Many of these people had booths set up and were selling handmade merchandise, which my wife and children absolutely loved. For instance, my wife fell in love with a Dreamcatcher, or as I was told by …show more content…
Although the culture may seem different by appearance (the music and traditional attire) there were several similarities. In the beginning, the man (I apologize, but the microphone was staticky at the beginning and I missed his name) thanked the veterans and led the audience in the National Anthem. The respect and gratitude he showed towards veterans and the military, reminded me a lot of myself. Being a veteran, the respect and admiration I have for the military goes unwavering. Interestingly enough, the American flag was raised higher than the tribal flags, which means to me that they value being an American, as well as, being Native. Another similarity was in the beginning, he had us shake hands with our neighbors and introduce ourselves. This reminded me of a Christian church service, as a way of being good neighbors. Furthermore, the Tribe seemed to be very patriarchal, as it is within my culture. I noticed only men were in the band, and that men were introduced first followed by women and