MSU alumnus and head male dancer Marcus Winchester dances to a traditional song Feb. 22, 2014, at the 31st annual Powwow of Love event put on by the North American Indigenous Student Organization at Jenison Fieldhouse. Winchester is of the Potawatomi Tribe and said that he loves being a part of events like the pow-wow, because it is fun.
Hundreds of dancers dressed in traditional native clothing gathered in Jenison Field House Saturday in celebration of the annual MSU Powwow of Love.
For 31 years, MSU and the North American Indigenous Student Organization have hosted a day full of dancing, drumming and singing. Saturday’s powwow celebrated a variety of American Indian cultures. Participants danced to the beat of the drums for hours while dressed in tribal clothing.
Vendors also were posted around the venue for attendees to purchase homemade products, such as dreamcatchers, necklaces and T-shirts.
North American Indigenous Student Organization is an inclusive student organization, but members are not required to be Native American, said Cassondra Church, interdisciplinary studies in social science junior.
Church, co-chair of the organization, said the group gives an opportunity to students to learn more about native cultures while discussing key issues within the community.
It wasn’t until Church came to MSU three years ago that she started to become interested in her heritage.
Church said she always knew she was a part of the Pokagon Band of the Potawatomi Indian tribe, but it wasn’t something stressed in her upbringing.
During her sophomore year, she joined North American Indigenous Student Organization to get a better feel of the history of her culture.
“I knew I was Native American but I wanted to know more about who I was and that’s what pushed me to get involved,” she said.
Once people know what the group stands for, they become passionate about it and want to know more, Church said.
The group serves as a second family said social work junior Jessie Lucero, another co-chair of the group.
Before she began at MSU, the organization’s adviser tracked her down and talked to her father, who forced her to attend meetings, Lucero said.
After she attended the first meeting, she was hooked. Over the course of three years, she hasn’t missed a single meeting.
Lucero, who’s a member of the Taos Pueblo tribe located in New Mexico, said she has learned a lot from the group.
“I didn’t know much about Michigan tribes before I came here, so I’m learning a lot about the ones here and hopefully they learn a lot about me too,” she said.
In Michigan, there are 12 native tribes and the group has a mix of most of them.
For the students who join the club but do not know much about their tribe, Church said the group tries to cater to their needs. They will often spend a meeting talking about the tribe and sometimes bring a keynote speaker to speak.
The group meets biweekly. During meetings, members often make crafts such as moccasins, dream catchers, or play games such as native bingo. Outside of meetings, the members often get together for team building activities such as laser tag or group dinners.
“We try to build that (native) community within MSU,” Church said. “By doing that, the groups often takes freshman students under their wing to help make MSU’s big campus feel a little bit smaller.”
However, because the group is fairly small, Church said the group sometimes goes unnoticed. They often help host various events such as the powwow to get word of the organization out to the MSU community.
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“When people hear NAISO, I want them to know what it is,” she said.
