Despite the nearly triple-digit heat, the crowds still came out for the 64th Annual Eastern Shoshone Indian Days Powwow on a sweltering Sunday afternoon on the Wind River Reservation.
Between events, the MCs pulled together an impromptu sing-off, where a singer from each drum group performed a non-powwow song for a prize over $1,000. They’re building up the hype for the upcoming Grand Entry, which kicks off the more traditional dancing and singing.
And the singers showed up, bringing acapella renditions of country songs and classics like “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Follow Me” by Uncle Cracker and even “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.
After the contest, people stood and removed their hats as the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe's Spring Creek Drum Group started up the music for the Grand Entry.
The Eagle Staff carriers and veteran color guard entered, followed by powwow royalty. As the music passed from drum group to drum group, a long line of dancers in traditional regalia made their way into the arena. They’re young, old and every age in between, wearing brightly-colored clothes adorned with ribbons, intricate beadwork, feathers, and jingles.
All of this unfolded on a fresh canvas – the new arbor. Eighty-six wooden poles were installed by hand in two concentric circles, each painted teal with yellow, orange, red and black blocks of color on the top and bottom. Roofing on the top creates shade for spectators. It’s twice as tall as the old arbor, with four sections of raised stands.
Suzanna Tillman is the chairwoman of the Eastern Shoshone Entertainment Committee, which puts on the event.
“We needed a new arbor,” she said. “The last one was just – it was too small just for what Eastern Shoshone Indian Days is today.”
The multi-day event draws thousands of spectators, registered dancers, and food and craft vendors. Tillman said this arbor was a priority for the tribe, which used unrestricted COVID-era American Rescue Plan Act funds to make it happen.
It took just about a year for it to be built in time to debut at this year’s event, but Tillman said there’s still a few final touches to add.
“The main part is the artwork on the back of the four grandstands. Then it has so much potential. It has room to grow. We can continue adding grandstands, more vendor space, more handicap parking,” she said.
Claullen Tillman is also on the Entertainment Committee and said the new arbor makes some key logistics a lot easier.
“We used to go rent light towers and things like that. That takes a cost out of that, where [now] we actually have lighting built inside, outside the arena, underneath the seating areas,” he said.
He said that in the near future, the hope is to pave the walkways surrounding the arbor and also install Wi-Fi so vendors don’t have to rely on cash-only payments.
Amani Iron Cloud is a sixteen year old dancer from nearby Ethete and said she’s a fan of the new lights and new seating.
“There’s definitely more room for more visitors. And you can see we don’t have to use those big ol’ huge lights no more. It’s just awesome and I love it at night,” she said.
Iron Cloud is wearing a long teal dress with geometric flowers and purple jingles. She said she’s making it work despite the heat.
“It was kinda hard yesterday, but I got kinda used to it. It’s not that hard today,” she said.
Sylvana Covers Up is from the Crow Reservation and is competing in Fancy Shawl dancing. It’s her first time at the Eastern Shoshone powwow and she said the new arbor is “really nice.”
“It’s very different from anything else I’ve ever seen back home. I hope to visit the powwow more,” she said.
Her dad Buzzy said he’s liking the crafting on the new arbor – and he’s even got a personal connection to the folks who set it up.
“One of them was actually one of my adopted brothers. He helped put this together. For him to be able to be motivated like that, to bring children up and just to give them something to look back on as he gets older [and say], ‘I helped put that together,’” he said.
Allan Enos is Eastern Shoshone and from Fort Washakie. He said there’s just a couple more arbor odds and ends that need to come together.
"They’re gonna have to do a little repairs on the lawn and stuff. They say the lawn’s pretty bumpy. But I think as long as they keep putting water on there – they’ll probably go over it with a big roller and roll that baby where it’s flat. I think they’ll be alright,” he said.
Enos is with two older friends and veterans, Lyle Oldman and Wayland Bonatsie. He said they’ve all been coming to the powwow for years.
“These guys, since they were kids! These guys are older than me, these guys are old guys there,” he said.
With the new arbor up and running, that’s the hope: that there will be many more powwows for generations to come.
