MSU NEWS SERVICE
The 42nd annual American Indian Council Powwow at Montana State University will be held April 14 and 15 at MSU’s Brick Breeden Fieldhouse. The event—featuring music, dance competitions, artisan vendors, raffles, basketball tournament, and race—is open to the public.
The American Indian Council Powwow is one of the largest in Montana. The powwow begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 14 with a grand entry. There will also be grand entries at noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. The festivities will include dance and drum competitions with cash prizes.
Northern Cree will be the host drum group with lead dancers Trisheena Kills Pretty Enemy (Crow), and Dion Killsback (Northern Cheyenne). The masters of ceremonies will be Jason Goodstriker (Kainai) and L. Jace Killsback (Northern Cheyenne).
The head dance judge is Jay Old Coyote (Crow) with Michael Spears (Lakota) as the head singing judge.
Booths located in the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse will offer a variety of artisan work for sale, including a limited number of powwow posters signed by Crow artist and MSU student Ben Pease. Non-profit and government organizations also will share information with concessions available for purchase.
The American Indian Council has organized a bison rifle hunt raffle with proceeds going to help fund the powwow. The bison is donated by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the winning bison rifle hunt will take place on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two hundred raffle tickets will be available for purchase with the winner announced between 7 and 8 p.m. Saturday.
The American Indian Council Powwow Fun Run with 5-kilometer, one-mile and walking categories, will be held on Saturday, April 15, beginning at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse parking lot. Registration begins at 8 a.m. the day of race with the race beginning at 9 a.m.
The annual MSU Powwow Basketball Tournament, with cash prizes, will also be held April 14 and 15. Visit the tournament website at www.montana.edu/aic/bball_tourney.html for details.
The Presidential American Indian alumni brunch, set for 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 15, in the Hall of Fame Room of the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, will feature keynote speakers Dion Killsback and Anita Moore-Nall, both MSU graduates. Killsback, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe who graduated from MSU in 2000, is a lawyer specializing in Indian law at the Rosette Law Firm. He is based in New Mexico. Moore-Nall, a member of the Crow Tribe, recently earned her doctorate degree in Earth sciences at MSU. Her dissertation was on uranium deposits on the Crow Reservation.
For a full schedule of powwow events visit www.montana.edu/aic/index.html.
