Kyi-Yo Powwow promises games, dancing, crafts

Even though the sun is returning, Missoula residents may want to spend their weekend inside the Adams Center enjoying the traditional games, dancing and crafts of the annual Kyi-Yo Powwow.

Dancers and spectators from across the country are participating in the 40th annual Kyi-Yo celebration and conference. It is a weeklong celebration featuring youth and academic conferences during the week, with the celebration and powwow kicking off Friday at 6 p.m. 

On Thursday afternoon, the University of Montana Kyi-Yo Club did a run-through at the Adams Center, finalizing preparations that have been in the works since September.  The Adams Center will likely be accommodating a thousand or more visitors.

According to Amanda Decker, vice president of the club, UM’s powwow is one of the largest university celebrations in the country.

“For the Salish, powwows originated as a war dance,” Decker said. “When the men came back from war, the women held a ‘war party,’ and the war dance was a re-enactment of battle.”

As tribes become more inter-tribal, the Kyi-Yo Powwow tries to incorporate the traditions of different tribes in Montana and other parts of the country, Decker said. This weekend, officials from five of the seven Montana reservations will be in attendance.

Featured events on Friday include the first rounds of the drum and dance contests, which feature dancers from ages 6 to 55 and older, and will conclude at about 1 a.m. 

Saturday’s festivities will begin early with a ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Native American Center at 9 a.m. just south of the grizzly bear statue on the Oval. 

A lesson in traditional American Indian games on the Oval and a youth three-on-three basketball tournament will complete the morning’s activities. 

Wade Davies, chair of the Native American Studies Department, will be leading the traditional games Saturday morning. Though Kyi-Yo runs the powwow, Davies said most of the Native American Studies faculty members volunteer at the powwow to help ensure the event is a success. They also arrange presenters for the conference.

“We do everything we can to support it, financially, by volunteering, any way we can,” Davies said.

Besides the dancing and drumming competitions, Decker said another popular Saturday event is the Kyi-Yo Princess Pageant, which selects a Miss Kyi-Yo, a junior Miss Kyi-Yo and a tiny tot to represent the university and Kyi-Yo at celebrations and community functions around the region for one year.

“They’re a big advertisement for us,” Decker said.

Dustin Whitford, Kyi-Yo’s president, said in addition to the events, about 30 vendors will sell everything from gems and beads to T-shirts, furs and artwork. There will also be a health fair providing free diabetes screening and information about nutrition and exercise.

Tickets are $5 for the night events, $8 for both Saturday afternoon and evening, and $12 for a weekend pass.

Decker said that because Kyi-Yo is a nonprofit group, the money raised at the powwow will be used to pay for its $70,000 of expenses, which include renting the Adams Center, paying the staff and awarding prizes to the winners of the competitions.