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Written by Rozanna Benally-Sagg | Photographs by Katelyn Yellowman
The Utah Division of Indian Affairs traveled to southeast Utah to hold its annual Indigenous Day event. In collaboration with Utah State University Blanding, a social pow wow was held in Blanding on Nov. 2 at 4-8 pm. The emcee, Taylor “Cheii” Begay, a former student at USU Blanding, welcomed dancers into the arena and invited community members to participate. Begay also shared cultural teachings of the pow wow circle. Close to 200 community members were in attendance at the San Juan Wellness Center, as the vibrant sounds of the Indian Creek drum group (Red Mesa, AZ) sang songs for dancers and invited everyone to dance during inter-tribal songs. Vendors from different organizations and businesses were present to offer information about resources for community members and cultural vendors were selling their art. Many were local and others traveled from central and eastern Utah, while others trekked from Colorado and New Mexico.
Pow-wow provides an opportunity for communities to come together and renew friendships, but also for visitors to come in, participate, and make new friendships. Utah State University-Blanding, the local Ute Mountain Ute Community, Blanding Navajo community, and the student volunteers from USU-Blanding did a wonderful job in making this event memorable and meaningful. This event was attended by both the Native and non-Native community. We hope to make this a regular event, even if it rotates throughout Utah.
Dustin Jansen, UDIA Director
UDIA typically holds their Indigenous Day event in November to kick off Native American Heritage Month. Over the years, Indigenous Day has taken various forms of community engagement, from an evening of recognition with dance performances, a day at a library with film screenings, storytelling, and cultural performances, to a community pow wow. UDIA is making more effort to engage more communities across the state with their Indigenous Day event and this year they successfully brought their event to the southeastern region of Utah with the help of USU Blanding. This is located where the Diné, Ute Mountain Ute, and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe have their homelands. USU Blanding was thrilled to partner with UDIA this year and hold the event in San Juan County. Many of their students participated as volunteers and provided great support to the event. They are looking forward to continuing their collaboration with UDIA for future events.
Blog written by Rozanna Benally-Sagg, Administrative Assistant for Utah Division of Indian Affairs. UDIA commissioned Katelyn Yellowman, a local photographer, to capture some memorable moments at the social pow wow. To view Katelyn’s photography work, visit her Instagram account. A social pow wow is a gathering of dancers, drum groups, and community members to come together in an inviting space for all to participate in, and it typically doesn’t have dance competitions included.
