Indigenous Peoples’ Day POW WOW Connects Them to Their Ancestors, Future Generations

A traditional indigenous meal was served before the celebration

FARGO, N.D. — A beat that feeds the soul.

“It’s blissful. It makes me feel happy,” Paula Howling Wolf said. 

And a song is all it takes to connect these indigenous brothers and sisters to their ancestors.

“That’s like one of the magnets bringing us all together,” Howling Wolf said.

“We want to celebrate the people that came before us, our ancestors, our chiefs, and we know that we weren’t discovered by anyone. We were already here and no one came onto our land and discovered us. This is important for us to get our history out there and tell our stories,” said Sharon White Bear, chairwoman for the Fargo Native American Commission.

This POW WOW is now letting everyone in the community know what it means to be an indigenous man or woman through the traditional clothing to the new generation who will lead the way someday.

“They need to see that. They need to see their leadership, they need to see people out there and seeing how to celebrate together even though there’s not a tribal nation right now,” White Bear said.

Above all, they’re reminding the people they’re always been here.

“We’re resilient. We’re still here,” White Bear said.

And they always will be as long as their drum keeps on beating.

“That’s the heartbeat. That’s the main thing we want to have.”

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators donated nearly 1,000 books to the Indian Education Program of Fargo and West Fargo at the POW WOW.