MILWAUKEE (AP) – Mark Powless strolled the grounds of the Indian Community School in Franklin as its end-of-the-year powwow unfolded.
Drums pounded and dancers swirled in the afternoon light as parents, students, teachers and community supporters joined the festivities in June.
Powless is a member of the Oneida Nation and the director of Our Ways, the school’s cultural curriculum.
“Powwows have come about over the years as a way of gathering, to understand each other even though we come from hundreds of different Native nations,” he said. “It’s a celebration of all that’s been accomplished and a look forward to what is coming up in the future in a social atmosphere.”
The powwow tradition is just a small but important part of the cultural programming at the Indian Community School, where the Our Ways initiative supports the school curriculum by connecting students with traditional practices and ways of life. The school, founded in 1969, serves 372 students from the greater Milwaukee American Indian community.
