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| Image by woodleywonderworks via Creative Commons |
During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to attend two powwows. In the early summer, I attended one hosted in the ballroom of the student center at Brigham Young University. Then in early July, I attended the powwow hosted by the Ute tribe outside of Fort Duchene as part of the Ute Reservation. (Ute means "Land of the Sun").
Most of the dances were organized by ages, which included competitions of older adults (all men or all women). Additionally, the procession into the arena at the Ute location had both veterans and older adults at the front of the procession. I was a guest of a woman who is Ute, and she helped me understand etiquette. She also emphasized the importance of older adults to the culture.
Of course, I have long heard about the respected role that elders play in indigenous cultures: they are storytellers, keepers of important information for living off the land, healers, leaders, and more. However, I do not fully understand the role of Indigenous elders because I am an outsider (and I always will be). However, I try to read at least one book a month about indigenous people. I am working at being an active listener to the messages in the statements made by people from the First Nations.
I find it better if I refer people to reading the works by indigenous people themselves instead of having the message garbled (in content, tone, and style) if I try to summarize.
Here are a few sources (with an acknowledgement that there may be glaring omissions):