Chumash Intertribal Powwow Draws Performers from Across North America

Native American tribes from throughout North America gathered over the weekend for the 26th annual Chumash Intertribal Powwow, a two-day gathering of dancing, singing, and drumming competitions set against the lush backdrop of the Santa Ynez Mountains. 

Hosted by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, the powwow drew hundreds of members from tribal nations across the U.S. and Canada for its second year in the town of Santa Ynez, following more than two decades of holding the powwow at Live Oak Camp along Highway 154.

The event space along Highway 246 buzzed with the scent of hay, funnel cake, and burning incense from vendors offering native food, regalia, jewelry, and art. The theme, “We Honor the Children,” welcomed participants of all ages, and birds could be heard singing in the trees above families chatting around the bright-green, grassy dance floor. 

Amplified melodies of the northern drum, the Ironswing Singers from Canada, and the southern drum, Blazing Bear from Oklahoma, provided a heartbeat for the competing dancers. Dance styles included traditional, straight, fancy, grass, jingle dress, buckskin, cloth, and chicken. 

Participants competed for more than $120,000 in cash prizes, yet there was no trace of jealousy or competitiveness. The event carried a familial atmosphere — on Sunday, the responsibility of judging the chicken dance was entrusted to a few young siblings. 

This chicken dance is not the same as its 1950s, flappy-armed, overdramatized counterpart that accompanies that one annoying song. The Native American chicken dance is a vibrant spectacle, with dancers mimicking flamboyant prairie chickens in colorful regalia featuring elaborate feather arrangements and bells around their ankles.  

As said by the master of ceremonies, Terry Fiddler of the Lakota tribe, they had “some of the best roosters in the country” there. 

The dancers bend their arms and stomp their feet in a similar manner to a chicken grazing on grassland. Hopping between one foot and the other, the dancers on Sunday did their best to keep in time with the progressively quickening beat of the drum across three songs. 

Some dances were highly energetic and flashy, like the chicken and fancy dances, and others were elegant, slow, and graceful, like buckskin. But no matter what dance was being performed, the participants seemed fully immersed in the experience and moved in an expertly controlled manner, the wind adding vitality to their flowing attire. 

Children in jingle dresses, originating from Ojibwe healing rituals, moved through the crowd in between dances, creating a gentle, twinkling sound reminiscent of wind chimes.

Each day, the powwow began with gourd dances at noon, followed by a 1 p.m. grand entry of dancers led into the arena by a color guard of Native American military veterans. Toward the day’s end, attendees joined in a joyful “round dance,” with dancers and spectators of different ages and backgrounds linking hands to form a circle and moving together for a few moments. 

The powwow is organized annually by Chumash tribal volunteers, aiming to provide educational and cultural experiences while fostering and promoting Native American self-reliance and pride through music, arts, and customs.

 “Our tribe is proud to host this popular event, which is an opportunity for tribes to come together and celebrate our Native American heritage,” said Kenneth Kahn, Tribal Chair for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. “We have thousands of visitors to our powwow each year who enjoy the experience while they learn more about our culture and traditions.”