When Maija Cruz’s mother arrives at Stanford University this week, it will mark not only her first campus visit but also enjoying a long-shared tradition connecting them to their American Indian roots.
The annual, student-run Stanford Powwow, which takes place Friday through Sunday, draws more than 300 dancers in full regalia from around the country and Canada and celebrates the respective cultures of the 300-plus Indian students on campus. For the latter, the occasion is as significant as Homecoming or Parents Weekend for the rest of the student body, and many of their families travel from afar for the festivities.
“My mom hasn’t seen the campus since the day she dropped me off for freshman year,” says Cruz, a junior from Milwaukee, Wis., and Powwow co-chair. “Among my Native friends here, it’s very common for their parents to come out for Powwow and graduation.”
Competitive and exhibition dances accompanied by drumming and singing make up the heart of Powwow, which Stanford students have held every year since 1971. It attracts crowds of more than 35,000 among the general public from the surrounding Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area.
Because top performers win prize money, the Stanford Powwow is a popular stop on the so-called powwow circuit, Cruz says. The national circuit consists of powwows sponsored by tribal nations, college student groups, and other Native American organizations that allow individuals of different tribal affiliations to dance competitively.
Some people earn a living traveling from one event to the next to perform. Stanford sophomore and Powwow co-chair Layton Lamsam has relatives in Kansas who “know people who drive all the way from the Midwest” for Stanford Powwow.
For some Indian students, the Powwow is one of the incentives in picking Stanford over other colleges because its longevity and popularity are proof, they say, of the institution’s commitment to diversity and supporting them.
