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PrintKansas celebrates its abundant native heritage
One of the many dancers, Dan Varner (kiowa), competing at the 2010 american indian Festival in wichita.
Photo By Crystal Bachicha
In 2011, Kansas is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its statehood, and adding their energy to official events will be the region’s Native cultures as they gather for the inaugural american Indian Festival in Wichita, on July 9 and 10.
Hosted by the Mid-America All Indian Center, which was launched in 1976 to reflect the state’s rich and ongoing Native American history and culture, the festival will showcase art, song and dance of the state’s many tribes, including the Kansa, which lent its name to the state, and the Wichita, from which that city gets its name.
The heart of the festival will be its con- test powwow dancing, drumming and sing- ing. Several hundred dancers are expected. Grand entries will be held at 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The event, under a different moniker, has been held at the Mid-America All Indian Center almost every year since it opened. “We are the premier intertribal powwow in the region, the big one,” notes Lynn Stumblingbear (Chickasaw), who is co-hosting the event this year with her hus- band Louie Stumblingbear (Kiowa). “It’s normally been held outdoors, but this year we are moving it indoors to the Century Expo Hall for the comfort of the participants and spectators.”
She notes there is a new emphasis being put on the festival’s art market this year, including the selection of a featured artist: Dana Tiger (Creek). Local Cherokee artist Sheila Brazil will teach participants about hand-built pottery. There will also be an expanded health-education fair this year. Live horses will help tell the tale of the role of the horse in Plains Indian life, while a live golden eagle will make evident the power of this majestic bird and its spiritual overtones to Americans as a whole.
Admission is $5 for adults ($8 for a two-day pass), $4 for elders and active military, and $3 for youth (ages 6–16); children under 6 are free. Doors open at 10 a.m. both days, closing at 10 p.m. on Saturday and at 6 p.m. on Sunday. For further details, call 316/350-3340 or visit www.theindiancenter.org. The Mid- America Center also has thousands of followers worldwide on Facebook and even sports a Twitter account.
