The 114th Arlee Celebration and Powwow continues this weekend in Arlee, Montana. Missoulian reporter Betsy Cohen was at the event Wednesday to give readers a little taste of what you might see, hear, eat and do at the amazing annual event:

Tribal elders Pat Pierre, left center, and Stephen Small Salmon, right center, both Pend d’Oreille and elders in the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, wait to enter the dance floor to begin the 114th Arlee Powwow on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo by Michael Gallacher/of the Missoulian)

ARLEE – Standing in the heart of the busy Arlee Powwow grounds, Stephen Small Salmon smiled at the beauty that surrounded him.

The sky was bright, the sun cast a golden light and all around him dancers adorned in their tribal regalia joyfully waited together to begin the day’s dancing at the Fourth of July celebration.

“The importance of the Arlee Celebration is getting different Indian people back together,” said 73-year-old Small Salmon, who is Pend d’Oreille and a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“We dance for our elders and our children, and for those who are fighting far away for the protection and safety of this beautiful land.”

This year, Small Salmon, along with Johnny Arlee, Eva Boyd and Madeline Isaac Finley are the powwow’s special honorees and will be celebrated for all their tribal wisdom and educational contributions in an honoring ceremony on Saturday.

As the drummers began to warm up and let the dancers know it was soon time to begin the Snake Dance, Small Salmon was pleased to see so many dressed in “old style.”

For a full Arlee Powwow schedule, click here.

Read the rest of this entry »