Native American Student Association To Host 22nd Annual Benefit Pow Wow on Saturday

By Dahlia Muana

Posted on March 01, 2017, March 01, 2017

The Native American Student Association will host the 22st Annual Scholarship Benefit Powwow on March 4, 2017, at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Photo Credit: Robert B. Caldwell, Jr.

The Native American Student Association and University of Texas at Arlington Honors College will host the 22nd Annual Benefit Pow Wow on Saturday, March 4.

The event will be held 10 a.m. to 10 p.m in the E.H. Hereford University Center Bluebonnet Ballroom, 300 W. First St. Admission is free and open to the public.

The purpose of the Pow Wow includes celebrating Native-American traditions and increasing awareness about the Native American Student Association chapter at UTA, Arena Director Harold Rogers said.

"For the native community, it's a way of fellowship and a chance to get together," said Rogers, who has attended the event since it started in 1995. "The Pow Wow is how we keep our culture alive."

The Pow Wow also benefits the NASA Scholarship Program, open to native and non-native UTA students who have demonstrated reasonable commitment to the Native-American community, Rogers said.

This year's Pow Wow is themed Honoring Our Elders and will include traditional foods, vendors and contest dancing. Comanche Thunder, a Dallas drum group, will host the event, NASA President Kristy Willis said.

"We have so many elders that still dance and participate," Willis said. "They've been teaching their families the traditions, we want them to showcase their talents."

Each year, the Pow Wow draws visitors from across the Dallas/Fort Worth region and even from out of state, Willis said.

"Our main goal is to just do it right and show respect," Willis said. "We want to educate not only natives, but non-natives as well."

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