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 For the seventh year in a row, Native
Americans returned to Leesburg to present “Powwow 2003” over the weekend
of December 5th.
The Intertribal Cultural Arts Society and
the Save the Land Foundation are co-sponsors of this event. It is held
in an open area just south of Downtown Leesburg. The property’s owner,
Mr. Stokes, allows the group to use the property in return for their
maintaining the area throughout the year.
 The purpose of the event is twofold: to
honor the disabled and deceased veterans of the various branches of the
service through the media of song and dance, and to educate the public
about the culture of the Native Americans. Many of the participants are
in full dress, and during each day of the Powwow, there are several
demonstrations of the dances that Native Americans use to communicate
their cultural beliefs.
The festival area is encircled by more than
two dozen tents. The area in the center of the tents is used throughout
the weekend for a variety of ceremonies and demonstrations. Several of
the tents are actually Teepees, and visitors are encouraged to explore
and purchase a wide assortment of arts and crafts that reflect the
Native American lifestyle. In addition to the beautiful paintings,
leather goods, shirts, jewelry, and other arts and crafts, attendees
were able to sample Indian Fry Bread and Buffalo Burgers - which are
very lean and have no cholesterol.
 The Grand Entry was held on Friday, and was
repeated twice on Saturday and once on Sunday to accommodate visitors
over the entire weekend. The President of the Save the Land Foundation,
Dave “White Wolf” Trezak, served as M.C. of this year’s ceremonies. One
veteran is selected to serve as the procession’s “Head Veteran”. He led
the Grand Entry into the inner circle, carrying the Eagle Staff. Several
other veterans carrying flags representing past wars and other conflicts
followed him. After a prayer by the Head Veteran for everyone who has
served or is serving in the Armed Forces, a Native American song was
sung. This was followed by a Memorial Song and a Veterans Victory Dance
performed by dancers in full costume. The M.C. stressed that “Veterans
are Warriors”, and he encouraged veterans and those serving in law
enforcement agencies, to join in the march.
 Several other performances followed, such as
the Grass Dance, the Blanket Dance, and the Woman’s Fancy Shawl Dance.
At the end of the Grand Entry, veterans were encouraged to line-up so
that those who wished to, could show their support for what they have
done to defend our country.
In addition, an Aztec Dancer from Mexico
performed some of their native dances. He also showed the audience how
they could be a part of the ritual by leading them to perform the dance
as a group.
The President of the Intertribal Cultural
Arts Society, Tom Lipps, described how much they enjoy presenting their
similar programs to schools, veterans’ homes, and other groups. They are
already making plans to return to Leesburg next year to continue with
their unique way of educating the public and honoring veterans from a
Native American perspective.
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