UVA’s Native American Student Union hosts its first powwow since the COVID-19 pandemic

Native tribes from all along the east coast came together to celebrate their culture and show that they are still here.
Published: Apr. 8, 2023 at 6:14 PM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia hosted its first powwow since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Native tribes from all along the east coast came together to celebrate their culture and show that they are still here.

Keenan Stewart is one of the dancers participating in the powwow.

“It’s a celebration of our people. We all come together from different nations,” Stewart said. “It’s very important for us to be able to talk about and do the things that we would have done back then.”

Stewart is a member of the Chickahominy Tribe and says that events like these are key to keeping tribal heritage alive.

“With a lot of our history, it’s oral. I know in Charles City and New Kent there’s been multiple fires over the years back in the late 1800s-1900s, and it burned a lot of the court documents.”

This is part of the reason that UVA and its Native American Student Union (NASU), hosted this event.

“We really want to make sure Native Americans and indigenous students at the university have a space to exist,” NASU President Hailee Shelton said. “The university and the city of Charlottesville rests on Monacan land, and I would say a large portion of the UVA student demographic doesn’t know what it means to be native or know someone who is Native American.”

The powwow featured dancing rituals from tribes all along the coast and had people of all ages partaking in the festivities.

“The big hope is that people understand that we are still here. Just because we don’t occupy our land anymore or we aren’t as large in numbers as we were before, we are still here. We are still a people, and we are still strong,” Shelton said.

NASU says it hopes to host an annual powwow moving forward and to grow the event even more in years to come.

Do you have a story idea? Send us your news tip here.