Sumner School District presents powwow for the public

Sumner School District finds opportunity to celebrate a culture and educate the public

By Avani Nadkarni/of The Herald

As Sumner School District’s Native American Education program coordinator, Laneya Smith sees a lot of students come through her office. She sees it as a good sign.

“I see anywhere from 70 to 100 kids a week,” Smith said. “We provide support and services for our Native American students. For the younger ones, we focus on reading and comprehension skills and for the older ones we have the Red Road program and that’s a support system. We want them to graduate and move into higher education.”

The Native American Education program has also established another way to allow the 250-or-so students in the program to stay close to their culture: An annual powwow, which is open to the public.

Jason LaFontaine, manager of the Puget Sound Education Service District Native American Education program, which encompasses the Sumner program, said the Sumner group had a few powwows in the early 2000s, but it had fallen by the wayside because of financial difficulties. Sumner held one last year and LaFontaine said about 500 people showed up, a much better-than-expected turnout.

“It’s a welcoming culture,” LaFontaine said. “Everybody in the community is more than welcome to join us and last year they certainly did.”

The powwow kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 1, with a “grand entry,” when all performers march in elaborately. The performances also include several different dancing and dress categories, Smith explained.

“There’s the fancy shawl category, which is more athletic for the ladies and the men,” Smith said. “They’re everywhere, they jump ... they have to have a lot of stamina. Then there’s the jingle dress category, it’s a real classic, just a very serene dance. Each category has it’s own style, as far as they way they dress and the style that they dance.”

The powwow, which is free to attend, will also feature a variety of vendors selling their wares, including arts and crafts, clothing and food, Smith said.

LaFontaine added that the atmosphere is casual, with people mingling and showing up and staying for as long as they want.

“We think it’s an important part of our culture,” LaFontaine said. “We want to let people know that native peoples are still out there, we’re not just in the history books. We live in today’s society.”

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