The annual Oneida Pow Wow is happening on June 26-28. The powwow draws 10,000 visitors to Oneida to experience traditional music and dancing.
This is the 52nd year the powwow will be held in Oneida, but it dates back much further than 52 years. Oneida Nation's Marketing and Tourism Director Michelle Anderson Danforth says she traced the first powwow back to 1840.
"We had a chief, his name was Daniel Bread, and he actually kind of adopted it as a celebration to celebrate Independence Day. And for a long time, they would do the celebration over the Fourth of July weekend weekend... and then it kind of went away for a while. Then the powwow ended up resurging in the 1970s. We actually would host it at our local civic center, and then eventually it moved up the road to the Norbert Hill Center where it is actually goes on today," Anderson Danforth says.
The event kicks off on Friday, June 26, with the grand entry.
"Basically grand entry is this spectacular part of our powwow where all the dancers come into the dance arena and all the dancers file in and it's what's really spectacular is we get over like 450, 500 dancers and they're all in this central dance arena so the people that come to visit — it's a great opportunity to see all the different style dancers, all the difference style regalia that everyone wears and it is a really great, great time to be there," Anderson Danforth shares.
There is over $163,000 in prize money up for grabs for the dancers. There are all different kinds of dances performed throughout the weekend including traditional, grass, fancy dancing and the fast-paced Oneida smoke dance.
In addition to the dancing there are over 40 vendors from food, to art and clothes for visitors to check out.
Other cultural experiences to check out in the area:
