Chief Joseph Warriors & Memorial Powwow!!

Since the early 70’s and late 80’s, the descendants of the Chief Joseph have been holding a Powwow to commemorate and honor the sacrifice of their ancestors. I personally also have Nee-Mi-Poo relations and it was very important to my family that we be in attendance at this Powwow to not only to respect the historical alliance between the Palouse and the Nee-Mi-Poo, but to honor our family and relations in Nez Perce country.

Attending this Powwow was a very special event. I was very excited to hear what was going to be shared and there was reconnecting with old family members and many introductions. The community spoke a lot about the history of the Nez Perce Wars and the historic “Run” they had with the United States government. This was mostly refreshing because for once I got to hear the history from the Nee-Mi-Poo themselves and not a biased textbook or film. The focus of the Powwow was on commemorating the sacrifice and challenges of our ancestors and taking that with us into the future. A giveaway from the descendents of Chief Joseph was the highlight of the evening. As the only representing royalty, there was a lot of gratitude from the community for my attendance. I was asked to speak and I expressed very sincerely my appreciation for being there to represent the Yakama Nation and I encouraged the young ones to pay attention to what was being said that evening. I exhorted them that the schools will try to paint a different history but that you must know who you are and that knowledge will give you strength to overcome adversity and the lies some non-natives would have us believe about ourselves.

The following morning, there was a brunch held at the Community Center prior to Grand Entry and it was my pleasure to shake hands with the early risers. There was a Wa’Shut Song sang, and a prayer held. To my surprise, my aunt Sophia Hunt, requested that I wear a dress that her daughter ,Ida, had been working on for her senior project in high school. It was a very beautiful dentalium shell dress and I wore it proudly. I gave my card to a woman who worked with the Head Start Program for the Nez Perce. I was surprised later, when the MC announced that a representative from Yakama had not attended their Powwow in some time and that they wanted to honor me. I was given a shawl and thanked for my words the previous night.