Annual powwow brings dance, tradition to Seafair

For 13-year-old Samantha Williams, dancing in front of a crowd of hundreds yesterday at the Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow while wearing a heavy dress was no trouble — she's become used to performing during her reign as Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow Princess.

It was the nearly 80-degree heat that was getting to her.

As she sat on the steps outside the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center at Discovery Park, gulping water to cool off after her dance, Williams proudly displayed her handmade dress, the red skirt sewn with dozens of carefully rolled silver tobacco-can lids that gracefully jingled with her every step.

The dress weighed nearly 10 pounds — a steamy outfit in such heat — but Williams said it was a small price for being able honor her heritage and pay tribute to the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, where she's been a visitor since she was an infant.

For Williams and hundreds of other Native Americans, the annual Seafair Indian Days Pow Wow, now in its 19th year, offers a chance to celebrate their culture, enjoy food and engage in friendly dance competitions.

Williams traces her heritage to Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian and Dakota Sioux tribes.

Williams' mother is comforted by the thought that events such as this will help keep her daughter connected to the Native American community.

"No matter where she goes in this country, she can go to a powwow and put on a dress and have a family there," Lisa Williams said.

More than 600 drummers and dancers will participate at the event this weekend, and nearly 10,000 people from around the country were expected to attend over the course of the three-day powwow, said Michelle Sanidad, CEO of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, which organized the event.

"This really brings people together to celebrate our community and our traditions," she said.

The Black Lodge Singers, a Grammy-nominated group from White Swan in Yakima County, is "host drum" for the event, singing and drumming during the colorful grand-entry ceremony and the various dance contests throughout the day.

Arts-and-crafts booths ringed the dance arena, and vendors were doing a brisk business. Some said they felt the event ought to be limited to vendors who sell handmade works. But others pointed out that while not all the items for sale were handmade, most of the booths were Native American-owned.

Many attendees, such as 46-year-old Bill Green, have been coming to the Seafair Pow Wow for years. Green rested in the shade at the perimeter of the park yesterday, next to where his friend and former brother-in-law Robert Young displayed sets of his sketches. They both said attendance seemed to be increasing each year.

The powwow continues today with a salmon bake, more dance contests, the crowning of the 2004 Seafair Indian Days Princess and closing ceremonies.

Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896 or jblanchard@seattletimes.com