Photo by Juliana Gabriel
"La Danza de los Viejitos," which translates to "Dance of the Elders," was performed by the Parhepecha dancers from Gresham, Ore. at the Native American Student Union sponsored "Tribal Gathering."

The 12th annual Welcome Back Powwow this year was a bit out of the ordinary.

The Native American Student Union hosted a Tribal Gathering instead of the normal Powwow format, in which everyone was invited to participate, from traditional Powwow dancers to the Hawaii Club Hula dancers.

The Gathering drew a large crowd of students and community members to the Ashland Middle School on Saturday afternoon. Besides the main coordination by NASU, the Black Student Union, the Latino Student Union, the Hawaii Club and the Multi Cultural Coalition were invited to share a part of their individual cultures.

"We all come from a tribal background," said Warren Austin, Master of Ceremonies.

This was the main reasoning for changing the normal format of the Fall Powwow to include people of all indigenous backgrounds. Austin made sure the Gathering ran smoothly by introducing the dancers and letting the audience know what was happening throughout the day.

The LSU brought the Parhepecha dancers from Gresham, Ore., to do a traditional dance called "Danza de los Viejitos."

"It is a dance that honors the elders," said Chris Heinz, a student at SOU who was also working as security for the Gathering.

The dancers were dressed in white pants and oversized white dress shirts and wore straw hats with red, white and green ribbons. They hobbled around the dance floor leaning on their wooden canes and holding their backs, like exaggerated elders.

NASU also invited Unete, a farm worker organization that works with migrant workers in the Rogue Valley. Volunteers set up tables with projects showing how important corn is to indigenous people.

"This is the natural food of our continent," said Stella Jane, a perma-culture home economics instructor.

Her title means that she will look over a piece of land and suggest the best things to grow in order to make a sustainable food source. She also has a talk radio show on KSKQ.org that discusses gardening and sustainable issues.

There was also a cornhusk doll-making table and a group of Unete volunteers helping people grind corn to make hand made tortillas.

The Gathering also included intertribal dancing where audience members were invited to join throughout the day. Later in the afternoon there were Apache dancers followed by a late communal dinner, which included salmon and tamales.

After dinner Phil Albertson, a Karuk storyteller, shared what gambling means to Native Americans.

"Gambling is traditionally a way to provide for your family," Albertson said.

He also shared a story explaining the gambling process.

"A game will go on as long as it has to," he said. "There are stories of it going on for three days."

Azalea Blalock, also known as Zaza the storyteller, was invited to the Gathering by the BSU.

"I've been doing this for 14 years worldwide," she said. "There is healing through storytelling, how can we see our future if we don't know our past."

Blalock also has a company called Green Soul Sage which helps set up eco villages, bringing elders and young people together to learn from each other.

The evening ended with the Ho'opa'a Hawaii Hula dancers doing a mix of traditional and contemporary dances.

"The Gathering is more inclusive this year," said Brittany Dixon president of the BSU.

Although the name may have changed, many people in the audience had been to the gatherings for several years and felt that every event has been special no matter what it is called.