(Courtesy/Salem Indigenous Now)
Salem area residents near Riverfront Park on Monday may hear the drumbeats of a powwow as the city celebrates its fourth Indigenous Peoples Day.
With other local tribes canceling powwow gatherings due to Covid, organizer Hannah Shootingbear said she wanted to bring a traditional powwow to Salem’s event for the first time.
The event will be held Monday, Oct. 11 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gerry Frank amphitheater.
Shootingbear said she is particularly excited about the guest speakers, Indigenous people in the community who will cover topics related to the theme of this year’s event: “the resistance is existence.”
“Regardless of what the government throws at us, any barrier that allows us not to move forward, regardless of the type of resistance, we’re still going to exist. We’re the protectors of Mother Earth since the beginning of time,” she said.
When entering the amphitheater, visitors can expect to see a row of informational booths and vendors selling merchandise. She said soup will be available for all at the event.
Those who attend are encouraged to bring a chair and canopy and are asked to follow social distancing guidelines. The event will have an area specifically for veterans, people who are elderly and those with disabilities.
She said the event is not affiliated with any local tribe and is only supported by volunteers and donors.
People can enter two different raffles to win a prize – one a “beautiful” picture of an elderly woman in Mexico selling fruits and vegetables, donated by youth group Latinos Unidos Siempre, and the other a traditional star quilt, Shootingbear said.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
