Dance as medicine

The beating of drums and resounding vocals reverberated in the air during the 21st annual Aquinnah Powwow on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Aquinnah Circle near the Cliffs.

The event, which celebrates Wampanoag and indigenous culture to the general public through music, dance, food, and goods, was originally started in 2005 by members of the Aquinnah Tribal Youth Group to revive an ancient tradition that hadn’t been practiced on the Island for at least 75 years.

The word “powwow” stems from the word “Pau Wau” in Narrtick — a language spoken by the Algonquian people of Massachusetts and Rhode Island — that means “medicine man.” Powwows were originally gatherings for native tribes to share and preserve their heritage through spiritual song and dance rituals during a time when forced assimilation policies were enacted by the U.S. government.  

On Saturday, the event began with a Grand Entry, a ceremonial procession of music and dance. Indigenous tribe members crouched low and then rose up to the blue sky; their steps bouncing with the drum beats. The dancers wore traditional garments — raw animal hides, eagle wings splayed across their backs, and colorful beaded jewelry — as they glided in a circle across the grass. 

Cassie Averett (a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe) was raised within the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. She participated in the Women’s Fancy Shawl Dance, which consists of quick footwork and vibrant dresses resembling a butterfly. Averett, who works as a teacher at the Weetumuw School — a Wampanoag-Montessori school in Mashpee — said that dance is a form of medicine.

“I like to dance for my children. I like to create a lot of medicine for the future generations,” she said. “So I dance to heal myself and heal the ones who can’t.”

James Moreis of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) carried the traditional Eagle Staff — a piece of wood adorned with sacred eagle feathers — during the Grand Entry. He describes “Powwow” as “a way of life.”

“A lot of people need to be in the circle and dance,” Moreis said to The Times. “A lot of times it’s where people come to get their medicine and come to get their healing.”

Josh Dini of the Walker River Paiute Tribe carried the Prayer Horse Staff, composed of painted willow wood, eagle feathers, and horsetail with a split at the end. Dini, the founder of Prayer Horse Inc. — a native-led organization dedicated to preserving indigenous culture and environmental health based in Nevada — said that he attended this year’s powwow after speaking at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum on Sept. 8.

Dini explained that the staff, which has a split at one end, symbolizes gender equality and was inspired by the Paiute Ghost Dance, a 19th-century spiritual movement that used dancing rituals to prepare for the return of the spirits of tribal ancestors to Earth. 

“[The staff] is what helps us lead with our prayers,” Dini said. “The split [is] because what it represents is equality for man and woman.”

On Saturday, the Aquinnah tribe honored its oldest, living member, Edith Andrews, 97. Andrews, who resides in Dartmouth, Mass., formerly served as a representative to the National Congress of American Indians, the nation’s oldest tribal advocacy group, and worked as a bilingual paraprofessional in the New Bedford school system.

Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, Andrews’ daughter and former chairwoman of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe, emphasized her mother’s positive and wide-reaching impact amongst native people.

“They always say if they can get to Dartmouth or if they can get to the Island, they really would like to see her and give thanks for all the information, the kindness, and the wisdom that she shared with them,” Andrews said. “So thank you, Mommy.”

Following speeches made by Edith’s loved ones, the Black Brook Singers, a traditional, Wampanoag singing and drumming group based in Aquinnah, performed an Honor Song as audience members were invited to speak with Edith.

Emcee Justin Beatty of the Ojibwe and Occaneechi Saponi Tribe shared personal commentary between the dance performances. Following a rendition of the Jingle Dress Dance — a healing dance ritual of the Ojibwe Tribe based in the Great Lakes region and southern Canada, where dancers wear dresses adorned with tinkling metal cones — Beatty said that the dance’s benefits are for native and non-native people. 

“This dance is for healing for anybody who needs it, regardless of race, creed, color, financial situation, background, or orientation,” Beatty said.

Near the crest of the hill at Aquinnah Circle, tribal elder Sharon Araujo of the Aquinnah tribe sold homemade jars of beach plum jelly, clay harvested from the Aquinnah Cliffs, and handmade tobacco pouch keychains made from raw hide and decorated with wampum and sea glass. In Wampanoag culture, tobacco is used to facilitate communication with the spiritual world.

Araujo, who hasn’t operated her own stand at the Aquinnah Powwow in about 20 years, said that the powwow allows her to reunite with some of her family members.

“It’s a big, big gathering,” Araujo said. “I haven’t seen a lot of my relatives for years.”

Heath Widdiss, Aquinnah Wampanoag, sold pottery made out of clay from the Aquinnah Cliffs. Widdiss, who now uses a pottery wheel to make his creations, said that he grew up making pinch pots with his grandmother, Gladys Widdiss.

It’s against state, federal, and tribal laws for anyone outside of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) to take or use clay from the cliffs. Widdiss said that along with cultural traditions, his pottery is rooted in familial memories.

“Growing up, my grandmother doing her pottery and bribing me with hot chocolate to help her with her pots — It’s more a personal thing to me than more of a traditional,” he said. 

Widdiss also said he enjoys seeing non-native people appreciate indigenous culture during powwow.

“It’s neat to sit here and be able to see other people that haven’t experienced anything like this to be able to come here and enjoy it and appreciate it,” he said.

Douglas Vanderhoop, Aquinnah Wamponoag, sold sailor rope bracelets and dream catchers at his stand. He explained how his dream catchers — a traditional craft composed of a hoop with a net to ward off negative dreams — work: “The dream travels in, goes up to the wampum, swirls around, and passes on to you, the dreamer. But if it’s a bad dream, it will come down, and it’ll get caught in the web and disappear in the morning sunlight.” 

The powwow featured several Wampanoag food vendors, such as Aquila MV and Sly Fox Den, a New England-based catering business serving authentic Northeast indigenous cuisine.

Sly Fox Den’s menu consists of traditional dishes, such as smoked fish, venison, and butternut squash, alongside modern twists on tradition, like the “Three Sisters Rice” (corn, beans, and squash) and Indian tacos (Indian frybread topped with chili).

Jade Galvin, Mashpee Wampanoag, runs the business, which was started by her mother, Sherry Pocknett and is named after her grandfather, Chief Vernon “Sly Fox” Pocknett. Galvin told The Times that powwow is about “keeping the traditions alive and letting people know we’re still here.”

There were many stands, such as Kinship Heals, a native-run domestic violence relief organization, distributing educational materials at the powwow. They also gave out breathalyzer keychains and fragrant shower steamers to help individuals with anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Taj Madison, Aquinnah Wampanoag, represented Sassafras Earth Education, a Wampanoag nonprofit dedicated to restoring indigenous environmental practices. The stand featured Wamponoag tools, such as a bow drill set (used to make fires by friction) and a digging stick (a sharpened wooden stick used for tilling soil and foraging). Madison, who lives in Boston, said that coming back to the Island refocuses him.

“Returning to Sassafras or to the land or to my tribe, I feel like I get a moment to pause. I get a moment to stop and reset and just center on my spirit inside,” Madison said.

Inside of the main tent, there were tables for organizations ranging from Harvard Dental School to the Federation for Children with Special Needs. Also present was Brad Lopes, education director for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). During powwow, Lopes shared information about the tribe’s initiatives, such as a scholarship program he hopes to establish for Wampanoag high school students on the Island.

Lopes said that powwow is about building relationships with those outside of his tribe.

“It’s really about community. It’s about seeing the smiling faces, seeing some people I haven’t seen in a couple months, and feeling whole. It’s way closer to where our life should be more often than not as Wampanoag people,” he said. “It’s also that age-old diplomacy and relational aspect too. We’ve been doing that for thousands of years, so you keep it going.”