The Quinnipiac University Indigenous Student Union and the Indigeneity Initiative hosted “Dancing in the Shadow of the Giant,” the first powwow at the university, Sunday, bringing together the five tribal nations of Connecticut and tribes from surrounding states.
A powwow is a gathering held by Native American and First Nation communities that often involves singing, dancing and ceremonies.
“When I became president of ISU, I was like, ‘Ok, this is my one goal before I graduate,’” said Aiyana Baker, a senior nursing major, a member of the Mohegan Tribe and president of the Indigenous Student Union. “Because I remember growing up, always going to Mohegan’s powwow. I just want to be able to have the representation on campus that would allow us to do this. So obviously, the past three years we’ve been fighting for all of our events to happen.”
Another reason why Baker wanted to organize the powwow was because she wanted to honor her late grandfather, who she credits to teaching her about her culture.
“I feel as though doing this is really like showing how much he instilled in me and everything like that,” Baker said. “So being able to make something so huge happen to represent our culture is like, so big to me, so I’m just really excited for that and for my family and friends to be there as well.”
Baker’s cousin, Kiara Tanta-Quidgeon, graduated from Quinnipiac in 2022 and was the former president of ISU. They collaborated to help plan the event.
“So (we just put) our brains together, trying to figure out how we can make it work,” Baker said. “We see so many other universities doing it, like UConn, Harvard, Brown, all of them do a powwow. So we were like, ‘Okay, so Quinnipiac can do it too.’”
Julia Giblin, professor of anthropology and an organizer of the Indigeneity Initiative, volunteered for the event. She often highlights Indigenous issues in her classes.
“All five of the (Connecticut) tribes are here today, it’s an opportunity to build relationships with the tribal communities, and it’s an opportunity for the public to also see our university as a space that cares about this culture and these issues,” Giblin said.
A tent was in front of Tator Hall, where dances, ceremonies and prayers were held. Multiple Indigenous music groups from across Connecticut provided the drums and singing for the event.
Keon Jackson, whose native name is Sookunon, is a part of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He is a part of one of the music groups that performed at the powwow.
“I’m the lead singer of the Young Blood Singers, and we’re the host drum of today’s event,” Jackson said. “So there couldn’t be a powwow or any type of event for Native people without the heartbeat. And we call the drum the heartbeat, so we’re the host heartbeat of the powwow.”
Jackson traveled over two hours with his partner, Krystal Tredwell, who is a part of the Unkechaug Nation in Suffolk County, New York, to come to the Quinnipiac powwow. The pair travel across the East Coast to attend various powwows.
“Powwows are very important to me because not only do they express and show people our culture, but they also provide that insight of what it looks like, and in both emotions is very important when it comes to our culture,” Tredwell said. “You can feel things and you can see them, you can feel them and just be a part of that process. Whether you’re a part of a tribe or not, is a beautiful local family connection.”
In addition to the music and dancing, vendors lined the paths of the quad, selling food, clothing, jewelry, home decor and more.
Jeffery Baez came to the Quinnipiac powwow to help his mother, alongside his family, run a vendor tent with Golden Hill Paugussett, which has two tribes in Trumbull and Colchester. His family sold jewelry and traditional medicine and remedies.
“When people are in college and they come around to see stuff like (powwows), they get more invested into it,” Baez said. “So people come around, people look at it, people realize how much powwows are a good thing, how much powwows can actually bring people together. So I haven’t been to a powwow in a while, and I’m glad it’s at a college, because as people walk by, they see it, stop by, look at stuff. You know, (it catches their) interest.”
In addition to ISU and the Indigeneity Initiative, other organizations in and outside of Quinnipiac came together to fund and promote this event. The Mohegan Tribe and Connecticut Humanities helped fund the powwow. The Office of Inclusive Excellence, the Albert Schweitzer Institute and the College of Arts and Sciences supported this event as well.
Different organizations from Quinnipiac came to table at the event, including the Disability Student Union, the School of Nursing and Quinnipiac EMS.
“I’m here to table for EMS. . . but also I thought this would be a cool event to see,” said Samantha Laguere, a sophomore medical microbiology and pathology major. “So I’m really glad that I came here. I love to see all cultures, and I’m loving that I get to see this culture in person.”
