1st Annual American Indian Pow Wow in the Berkshires Sunday, August 27, 11am – 8pm, in The Common in Pittsfield, MA. Admission Is FREEThe 1st Annual American Indian Pow Wow in the Berkshires is a family event with free admission. The purpose and focus of this event is to develop a greater appreciation for contemporary American Indian culture, history and performing arts.There will be American Indian singers, dancers and drummers representing various tribes, styles and categories. In addition, there will be American Indian food vendors, contemporary native arts and crafts, children’s activities with a storyteller, and a special American Indian Art Market.
The Berkshires of Massachusetts was a part of the ancestral homeland of the Mohican Nation, also known as the Stockbridge Indians. Native names like Pontoosuc, Wahconah, Mahkeenac, and Onota testify to the people who made their home in this area. The Pow Wow will witness the return of a Mohican drum group as host, actual descendants of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation. They will be coming from the state of Wisconsin, where they were removed in the nineteenth century.
Highlights of music and entertainment program include:
· Nanapowe, Host Drum – The Stockbridge - Munsee Band of Mohicans return to their ancestral homelands from Wisconsin, where they were relocated in the early 1800’s from Stockbridge, MA., contact Vicki Bowman, Shawn Stevens, 715-793-5025
· Quabbin Lake, Honor Drum – They are the youngest drummers and singers in the northeast who have traveled extensively throughout the US and Canada, 508-943-7547
· Bear Lodge Singers – Mikmaq from Nova Scotia, Junior, 978-897-5502
· Wolf Cry Singers – an all women intertribal hand drum singing group. Gloria, 508-226-5184
· Jerry and Jeannie McDonald – Iroquois Music and Dance
· Jennifer Lee – 18th Century Re-Enactor, Material Culture Presenter
· Marge Bruchac and Justin Kennick, "Hand in Hand" – This duo will perform traditional Abenaki songs and stories and teach an Abenaki Friendship Dance, 413-584-2195
· Don and Leslie Barnaby, Head Male and Female Dancers, Mikmaq originally from Listui Quebec, 781-925-2623
· Malachy McGuirt, a young Ojibway from Pittsfield MA will be our head youth male dancer. Ana Philips, Miqmak, daughter of Troy Phillips, will be our head youth female dancer
· InDidgDance – Australian Aboriginal Music and Dance
· Bob Olson, Bob White Bear – Flute Player, 603-305-8179
· Special exhibition performance by a Hoop Dancer
· Aztec Dance Group
· Troy Phillips – Commissioner of Indian Affairs for Western MA, 413-281-9792
· Aaron Athey, Mohican - Master of Ceremonies, 860-887-4720
· Storytelling and face painting in teepees
· Special Guests American Indian musicians and performers to be announced.
Pow Wow is the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, feasting, celebrating, visiting, renewing old friendships and making new ones. The literal translation from the Algonquin language, Pua Wua means ‘to make well’. The Pow Wow is a celebration of culture!
This premier event is being organized by Healing Winds, a Berkshires based non-profit co-directed by Fidel Moreno and Susan Jameson in association with the City of Pittsfield and in conjunction with the Ethnic Fair in Pittsfield, and an all-volunteer community-member committee. HEALING WINDS focuses on Native American teachings, education, culture, and healing sciences. A portion of the proceeds will be directed to the North American Indian Center of Boston.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Thank you for letting us know about this wonderful and extremely important event.
Late last month, the Conservation Commission greenlit some tree pruning on the property. New windows and a new door can be seen in the front of the building.
"It's a substantial renovation that's currently underway here," Brent White of White Engineering said, speaking on behalf of the applicant and owner, Huajie Zhu.
A fire gutted the longtime Wahconah Street supermarket in 2023, and the following year, Zhu purchased the property for $460,000 two years ago to build a restaurant with hibachi in the existing footprint of the more than 100-year-old building.
White explained that the project has been ongoing for over a year, and the Community Development Board granted the property a waiver to reduce the minimum required number of parking spaces so that additional spaces aren't needed.
He noted that, looking at the site plan, there is very little room to do so. A mirror will be installed near the sharp turn on Bel Air Avenue to alleviate traffic concerns.
Pruning will be done on trees in the southeast corner of the existing paved parking lot, as a number of branches are hanging over. The new owners also intend to patch, sealcoat, and re-stripe the parking lot.
A fire tore through the building less than an hour after the supermarket closed for the day three years ago. An automatic sprinkler system is required for the new use.
Cassidy Flynn scattered five hits in a complete-game effort in the circle as Lenox upset top-seeded Hoosac Valley, 3-2, in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament. click for more
Brayden Durant struck out seven and walked one in a complete-game effort on the mound Saturday to pitch the Drury baseball team to a 6-0 win over Keefe Tech in the quarter-finals of the Division 5 State Tournament at Joe Wolfe Field. click for more
Jason Codey struck out 13, walked two and allowed just an infield single as the Generals earned a 7-1 win over Wahconah to claim their third straight regional title. click for more
Gracelyn Wright struck out eight, and Genevieve Lagess went 3-for-5 with four runs batted in as the Hurricanes beat Monson, 17-3, to claim their first Western Mass title in four years. click for more
For the boys, Ward Bianchi helped lead the way with a win in the shot put and a second place in the javelin as the Mounties finished 16 points ahead of runner-up Pittsfield (pending the results of the pole vault, which were unavailable at 11 p.m. Friday night). click for more
