The City of Malibu’s 10th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and Intertribal Gathering, taking place this weekend, is predicted to be larger than ever.
By Nora Fleming / Special to The Malibu Times
In 1999, Malibu officially recognized its indigenous population on Earth Day, April 22, by proclaiming Chumash Day, in honor of the Native American tribe.
The first Chumash Day Powwow featured Native American dancers, vendors and food. The celebration has stayed the same but grown exponentially since, and this year’s festivities, taking place Saturday and Sunday, will mark its 10th anniversary, as well as the first year the City of Malibu has officially taken over the full operation of the event. The event the past nine years was overseen by Malibu resident Francine Greene, the former chair of the Native American Cultural Resources Advisory Committee, who first proposed the event.
“A powwow is sacred; it’s like our church. No matter what the issues are, we leave them in the outside world,” said Beverly Rhodes, a Chumash elder who travels the powwow circuit as a dancer and has volunteered with Malibu’s Chumash Day celebration for the past seven years. “[The powwow] is a time for camaraderie and peacefulness, and for the spirit to take over.”
Powwows welcome all tribes, all dancers and musicians, as well as non-native peoples. Each year at Malibu’s Chumash powwow, dancers, from what Malibu Parks and Recreation Manager Amy Crittenden estimates to be 25 to 35 tribes, don native handmade regalia, representative of their respective tribes, and perform in the venue at Bluffs Park.
Chumash regalia typically features buckskin, grass skirts and a great deal of shells, Rhodes said, due to the population being a coastal/island tribe.
Crittenden estimates the powwow has grown by roughly 500 people per year in the past few years and estimates there will be more than 2,500 people attending this weekend.
Saturday’s festivities will include an award ceremony for those who have been involved with the powwow since its beginning and a recognition of the new City Council.
Saginaw Grant will be this year’s head man and will pay homage to Floyd Westerman, a Native American actor and close personal friend of Saginaw’s, who died last December. Shelly Hill is this year’s head woman, and Alan Salazar, who has participated in past Malibu powwows, is the event’s spiritual advisor. David Loscano is the head gourd man and John Soto is the firekeeper.
Crittenden sees the biggest challenge as making sure visitors can find enough parking in limited space. She advertised in local papers and on several powwow Web sites, utilizing new media in attempt to attract new visitors to this year’s event.
“You don’t want just Native Americans to come to the event,” Crittenden said. “You want people to come and learn about the culture of Native Americans.”
In the earlier days of the celebration, many of the performers were often approached in person by Greene and asked to come to Malibu. The personal requests built a positive relationship between many Native Americans and Malibu that inspired many to keep coming year after year, even though many did not live nearby.
Carlos Reynosa, a Native American flute and guitar player who has been playing native music for almost 20 years, was one of the original Chumash Day powwow performers, and has continued coming to the event for the past nine years.
“When you are on the powwow trail, it’s a lifestyle,” said Reynosa, who added that many Native American performers travel from performance to performance on very little just to share their heritage.
Merchants, from both inside and outside the Southern California area, will sell jewelry and other goods, as they have in years past. Several food vendors are also booked this year to serve traditional favorites, like fry bread.
Vendors like Robert Pryor, who is both Cherokee and African American, have found support from within the Malibu community and outside visitors at the event every year.
“It was a warm feeling that you were being recognized in the City of Malibu,” said Pryor, who remembers what he believes were spiritual experiences at Bluffs Park, such as seeing a school of whales pass by during an event, in the past.
Next year, the city may look for a Native American tribe to sponsor a dance contest, a feature at some powwows, which could bring in some really high quality dancers, Crittenden said.
“It could really take the powwow to a whole new level,” she added.
The 10th Annual Chumash Day Powwow and Intertribal Gathering will take place Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information can be obtained by calling 310. 456.2489 ext. 337.