Help support the 2nd Annual Odenong Powwow

*****UPDATE***** - Unfortunately, due to an error by the Town of Amherst, the Amherst Common was double-booked for the weekend of the powwow. This conflict created a situation that put us in the position of having to make the decision to move the 2nd Annual Odenong Powwow to a different location within the Town of Amherst. Members of the Town Council, upon realizing the issue and the error on their part attempted to rectify the situation by making the Amherst Town Common available to us. However, by that point, we had already begun to shift things to the new location, the Amherst-Pelham Regional High School's gymnasium, which was our bad weather location. While this set of circumstances is disappointing, we are determined to follow through with making the 2nd Annual Odenong Powwow even more impactful and fun for everyone in attendance. The reasons behind holding the powwow have not changed and the motivation to make this year and every year to follow the best they can be has increased exponentially. The Native community here has responded with resolve and redoubled efforts to make sure we, and anyone who comes to join us, have a great time. We hope to see you there.
 
*****Original Posting*****
Hello, my name is Justin Beatty and I am the founder of the Odenong Powwow. I am working to raise funds for the 2nd Annual Odenong Powwow to be held Memorial Day Weekend, May 28-29, 2022 on the Amherst Town Common in Amherst, MA. I am hoping to raise $10,000.00 to put toward the cost of holding the powwow which is a free event, that is open to the general public.

 

What is the Odenong Powwow?

Founded in 2021, the first Odenong Powwow was a virtual event held on May 29, 2021, in collaboration with the Social Distance Powwow (https://www.facebook.com/groups/socialdistancepowwow), a Native American cultural event group on Facebook with over 290,000 members.

 

The Odenong Powwow is a celebration of Indigenous cultures and a means of providing a quality cultural event for the Native American communities in Western Massachusetts and the surrounding areas. It was also created to operate as a means of supporting & raising the visibility of Native American, Indigenous, & First Nations people in the area, as well as to educate and build relationships with non-Native people by allowing them to see and interact directly with members of living, dynamic Indigenous cultures.

 

How do we intend to accomplish these goals?

Putting on a powwow is no small undertaking, it is expensive and time-consuming. The end result, if the powwow is done well, makes it incredibly worthwhile. To that end, there are many things we hope to do in order to meet our goals of having the Odenong Powow reach the goals stated above. Some of the things we will do are:

 

Why now?

The general public is becoming more aware of Native people, our histories, our issues, and our presence in ways like never before. Unfortunately, this is also coming at a time when Covid has caused many of the educational institutions in the area to stop holding events and the main powwow here in Western MA for the last 30+ years has been the Umass-Amherst Annual Powwow. Due to Covid, the UMass-Amherst powwow has been put on hold since 2019, with it unlikely to return in the near future, leaving no medium to large scale Native American cultural events for communities of Western Massachusetts and the surrounding areas.

 

Although the 2021 Odenong Powwow, was a one-day event, it received over 84,000 views on the Social Distance Powwow's Facebook page and was shown in its entirety for 5 days straight on Northampton Open Media's local cable access channel.

 

How will the money raised be used?

The money raised through this GoFundMe will help to cover various costs associated with putting on the powwow. None of the money raised will be used to generate income for the powwow. Any and all funds raised will go directly to paying head staff, performers, contest/special winners, and operational costs. Some of the things we specifically need to cover include but are not limited to:

 

With the money raised last year, we were able to secure three drum groups, two from the United States (the Iron River Singers & Urban Thunder) & one from Canada (the Lone Cry Singers). We were also able to have two guest speakers. One was Leah Hopkins (Narragansett/Niantic), a Community Engagement Specialist at the Haffenreffer Museum at Brown University. The other guest speaker was Christopher Newell (Passamaquody), the co-founder of the Akomawt Education Initiative (https://www.akomawt.org) and former Executive Director of the Abbe Museum. Through generous donations and money put forth out of my pocket, the Odenong Powwow was able to provide monetary prizes for several powwow dance competitions to Native American/First Nations/Indigenous dancers from the United States & Canada. I can not explain how happy the Native American/First Nations/Indigenous community here in Western Mass and the surrounding areas was to have an event in the midst of the pandemic that allowed them to participate in a safe, virtual, environment.

 

Why the location?

The Town of Amherst was chosen for a lot of reasons. The Amherst Town Common in particular is a highly accessible site with public transportation stops for both the local PVTA buses and the interstate Peter Pan Bus Line. It is bordered by MA Routes. 9 & 116. It is within a half-hour of several Amtrak stations. There are 5 well-known colleges & universities within 15 minutes of the location. There are multiple hotels in the area and well over 30 restaurants within a 15-minute drive.

 

But there is an important historical reason for holding the powwow on the Amherst Town Common. 263 years ago the town of Amherst was founded and named after Jeffrey Amherst, a British General who advocated the use of smallpox infected blankets as gifts to Indigenous people here in the Northeast.

 

In 1763, he wrote a letter to a Swiss mercenary named Henry Bouquet, stating:

"Could it not be contrived to send the small pox among the disaffected tribes of Indians? We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them."

 

And in a second letter also to Bouquet, he wrote:

"You will do well to try to inoculate the Indians by means of blankets, as well as to try every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race. I should be very glad your scheme for hunting them down by dogs could take effect, but England is at too great a distance to think of that at present."

 

Here in Western Massachusetts, and the surrounding areas, the visibility of Native Americans, First Nations, & Indigenous people has been difficult to maintain. The histories of the people whose homelands encompass this part of the country are rarely discussed in public education locally and almost entirely ignored on the national stage. One of the important ways visibility has been increased over the years has been through cultural events, academic presentations, and activism. However, the number of powwows in western MA has been greatly reduced over the last 10-20 years. I think this is a historic opportunity to show that WE ARE STILL HERE! To hold a powwow in the center of a town named after a man determined to destroy Indigenous people is no small statement in my eyes and it has the potential to be a stepping stone in reconciliation between the town's history and the local Native communities.

 

What's next?

Our hope for 2022 is to expand on what we were able to create in 2021. The first-ever Odenong Powwow was an amazingly successful event with over 84,000 views from around the world. Drum groups and dancers participated virtually from both the United States and Canada! Although we only did fundraising for a little over a month last year, the Odenong Powwow was able to raise enough money to pay the winners of the dance contests over $3,000.00 on top of what we were able to pay the drum groups & guest speakers!

 

In working to build one of the premier cultural events in the area, we have reached out to prominent members of Native communities throughout New England for their approval and support. We have also connected with several Native & non-Native organizations for sponsorships and grants. So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive and we are hopeful the positive response will translate into actual financial support and attendance throughout the weekend of May 28 & 29, 2022.

 

In conclusion, we really hope that people like you will find it a worthwhile endeavor to help us support Indigenous people and the general community of western Massachusetts & the surrounding areas in educating, interacting, and bridging cultural differences by giving what you can to help us make the Odenong Powwow a success in 2022.

 

So if you can donate, please do. To be able to put a spotlight on the Indigenous people living in this area of the world and allow them to share who we are around the world will have an immeasurable impact. The pride, joy, knowledge, visibility, and respect that will come out of this event if successful will be experienced for years to come.

 

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

 

Thank you and stay tuned for more information!