Dale Denwalt
Daily Elk Citian
The Spotted Bird Pow Wow, now in its 14th year, dances into Elk City Friday at the Civic Center.
The event is named for Hammon-based promoter Charlene Threlkeld's father.
"The name came from my dad. His name was Frank Starr, and his Indian name means "Spotted Bird," said Threlkeld. "And we named it in memory of him and continue to have the pow wow."
Threlkeld said that, originally, she and her family didn't expect it to last this long.
"About 14 years ago we just had a one-day pow wow and the Chamber of Commerce noticed it was a lot of revenue that came in on that Saturday," she said. "And they asked if we could continue the pow wow."
After talking to her family about it, they agreed and it's just kept going.
Regular visitors pow wows will notice something different - new contests and a diverse tribal affiliation.
"As it grew, a lot of different tribes have been coming in. And this one in particular, there we're having seven different special contests other than the original contests that we usually run," said Threlkeld. "There's different types of dancing. For the men, there's the fancy war dance, traditional and grass. For the ladies there's buckskin, cloth, jingle and fancy dance. And they are all separate categories and their own style of dancing."
One of the new dances is the men's chicken dance.
"This is a northern style of dancing that came from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho; this will be a new type of dance and a special contest," she said.
Another new contest is one where the contestant will play a small hand drum, sing, and possibly be accompanied by two women.
The first dances begin Friday at 8 p.m. The next day, there will be a gourd dance at 3 p.m. and the grand entry begins at about 7:30.
On the pow wow's final day, the grand entry starts at 5 p.m.
Threlkeld expects many types of vendors, providing food, jewelry and beading.
"I'm real glad they decided to come to my pow wow when there's two or three other pow wows going on in the state" that weekend, she said.
If dancing in a pow wow was hard enough work, Threlkeld said running it keeps her away from participating.
"I take care of all the paperwork and all the bookwork. I hardly ever have any time to dance," she said, noting that she has a daughter who dances. Her granddaughter will also be involved.
"I'm just too busy keeping the paperwork and everything in order, all the contests and the dances that are going on," she said. "It takes time, because you have to put on all your regalia that's required for each separate contest."
On Friday, Threlkeld expects 50 to 75 dancers.
"By Saturday or Sunday, there will be about 100 or more dancers because all of the contests," she said.
The event is free and open to the public. On Sunday, the family will provide all attendees with an Easter meal of roast, chicken, salad and dessert, Threlkeld said.
Scott and Theresa Shillingstad are providing the meat, while United Grocery is providing most of the meals' desserts. For those who want to donate drinks, just bring them with you before the dinner or drop them off at the Civic Center.