BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Great Lakes Great Lakes Native American Powwows

Michigan State University hosts an annual pow wow. I don't know if it is as well attended as it used to be, but I remember it was huge at one point in time. I thought about attending, but didn't want to go alone. Now I wish I had for the experience.

Hello! New here, but look forward to getting to talk to you all! I went to CMU and went to the annual pow wow on campus every year. I've also been to the one in Ann Arbor a couple of times. The first one I ever went to, though, was an outdoor event on Manitoulin Island and if they were going for first impressions, they did a bang up job. There were still vendors and loudspeakers, but the drumming hit you square in the chest the minute you stepped out of the car. It was really amazing. I tend to be very shy around the Native American culture while I am utterly fascinated by and drawn to it at the same time. After having been to a few, I will say that, as an outside observer, it's been fulfilling to watch the community of these pow wows. You see people coming together like family and the sense of unity is palpable in the air. It's an honor to be allowed to watch it and feel that sense in the air. There are some smaller outdoor pow wows around my area that I'd like to try and get to this summer if I can. Work schedule does not aways permit, but I can always hope...!

Edie - I've usually gone with others but sometimes we would go off and do our own thing, so it's definitely something you can enjoy on your own if you get the chance to go.

Apple Blossom - Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you had a great time at the Manitoulin and school events. I hope you get a chance to go again this year.

I still live in the Ann Arbor area and read a lot of fliers at the A2 pow wow last year about a lot of smaller, outdoor gatherings near places like Dexter and Belleview, etc., places a little more south and central. Has anyone ever been to these or gatherings like these? The big ones in stadiums are fine, but I'd be keen to check out a smaller event as well. Might feel more personal (although it won't do anything for my "I don't belong here" complex!):-)