Last weekend, the Montrose County Event Center was filled with the sounds of drums, singing and dancing as it hosted the Uncompahgre Powwow.
The event brought together people from different tribes, generations and backgrounds to celebrate Indigenous culture and community.
Jackson Rolling Thunder Tahuka, the weekend's Master of Ceremonies, explained the history behind the gathering. “Our people, the original people, were the Hilloshka people of Macy, Nebraska, the Omaha people that transferred this very dance across Indian country to Lakota, Nakota and Dakota people. It was the three nations of the Oyate that brought powwow to the nations and gave it across Indian country,” he told us. He says the powwow was originally a ceremony, but developed into a social event.
Tahuka isn’t local– he traveled from California to serve as the event's emcee. He formally thanked our local tribe, the Ute nation.
Powwows have a complicated history in the United States. For decades, federal policies sought to suppress Native American cultural and religious practices, including traditional dances and gatherings.
But those traditions survived. And today, powwows are an important way for Native Americans to preserve their cultures, share traditions and strengthen relationships across tribal nations.
Ron Goodeagle Jr, the weekend’s Arena Director, told us that Native Americans make up less than 2% of the nation’s population. Powwows across the country serve as a way for that small minority to connect.
“Within that 2%, there's not too many of us, you know, but when we go all over the place, like, we have so much love for each other,” he said. “in history, they always talk about war times, you know, tribes battling other tribes, but they don't ever talk about the times of peace, the times of relationships… and sometimes song and dance were part of those peace times.”
In the arena, that sense of connection was visible across generations.
Elders sang, drummed and prayed, while children as young as two or three joined the dancing in their tiny jingle dresses. Veterans proudly wore their military uniforms, with some serving as flag bearers. Dancers wearing intricate regalia represented a variety of traditions, each with its own movements, rhythms and significance.
Tahuka emphasized that everyone was welcome, regardless of their background or tribal affiliation. And throughout the weekend, that spirit of inclusivity was on full display.
But some powwows, including this one, are also competitions.
Goodeagle Jr. told us that in order to score high marks, dancers need to stay on beat with the drummers– which requires knowledge of traditional songs.
While there’s a competitive aspect to the dancing this weekend, scoring isn’t the whole purpose.
For many participants, the dances carry deep spiritual meaning. They're an opportunity to honor ancestors, celebrate cultural traditions and offer prayers for their communities.
Ivy Medicine Crow is one of the younger dancers who participated in the event. She told us that her favorite part of dancing is “praying for my elderly people.”
The Uncompahgre Powwow was hosted by the Ute Indian Museum and the Western Slope Native American Resource Center. The organization provides services to Native Americans in the region, helping them with housing, healthcare, sobriety, education, or wherever they can help fill the gaps.
Woods says many Western Slope residents aren't aware that the organization exists, or of the cultural events and resources it offers. He hopes gatherings like the Uncompahgre Powwow will help change that.
The dancing, singing and colorful regalia might be what first catches a visitor's attention, but the people we spoke with emphasized something deeper: the importance of keeping traditions alive, and passing them down to younger generations.
“To be here today makes me feel that my grandparents, my great grandparents, my parents that are elderly in their 90s and 80s, that their prayers were answered,” Tahuka told us. “To be here today makes me more happy to know that culture, no matter what culture, if you fight through the right thing, your culture will be celebrated. You will be celebrated. So it makes me very happy to see that our people are still here and doing what we're supposed to do, which is to showcase that love.”
We asked Tahuka if there was anything else he wanted the public to know about the powwow. His answer encapsulated the energy we felt in every individual we spoke to that day. “I always tell people and remind them that they're loved, they're wanted and needed on this earth,” he said. “I'd want people to remember that when you leave here that you feel that loving spirit that we respect all people. And that way, when we transfer that respect and love, that they transfer that to the world”