YAKIMA, Wash. – Yakima Valley College brought back an annual tradition by hosting a powwow to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. The event aimed to connect the community with Native American culture and history.
The Kaminski Conference Center at Yakima Valley College was filled with over 300 people attending the powwow. For many, a powwow represents a moment to exist and simply be.
“It means connection, it means family, it means friends. It means everything just to celebrate and just to be,” said Cosmo Jack.
Tenya Moravec, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Equity and Organizational Development at YVC, explained the college’s decision to revive the event.
“We wanted to, you know, use this as an opportunity to generate more interest in the culture and for students who maybe identify as Native American or indigenous to have a place where they can come and celebrate and share experiences with other students who may have similar experiences,” said Moravec.
Moravec’s daughter, Kira, who is a YVC student, played a key role in organizing the powwow alongside her mother with help from the Tiin-Ma Club. Cosmo Jack, a club member, highlighted the significance of powwows.
“Not too long ago, we were persecuted to the point where we couldn’t even celebrate our own religion, our own dance, our own language. And today is a show of what that means to resist and still persist in the face of injustice such as that. So today we’re going to keep on dancing and singing and speaking in our language that we’ve been doing for centuries on,” said Jack.
For Otto Cruz, a member of the Yakama Nation Warrior Association and the Mayan-Quichés tribe from Guatemala, the powwow offered a new experience.
“I learned so much of it, but I know it brings community together, a lot of love in it and a lot of fun, and a lot of different types of dancing,” said Cruz.
Moravec emphasized the importance of events like powwows in fostering cultural awareness and understanding.
“Groups are feeling like there’s some kind of almost a danger in their identity or representing who they truly are, and being that, showing up authentically. And so, I think for us, this is in alignment with our mission to really serve our community and serve our students. Any and all are welcome at YVC. They will also be valued, celebrated, and recognized,” said Moravec.
Moravec expressed her hope that this event will become an annual celebration at Yakima Valley College once again.
