Camas Prairie School holds its last powwow

More than 200 people from Sanders and Lake Counties attended what may be the last Native American powwow at Camas Prairie Elementary School last week.

Emcee Alec Quequesah, a Salish Indian, said the powwow Friday was a special gathering, but a sad one because it’s also the last one at Camas Prairie School because the school is closing its doors at the end of May due to a lack of students.

The powwow was a way to bridge the gap between cultures, said Francis Stanger, a Lonepine resident and one of the more than 30 dancers at the five-hour powwow.

The 80-year-old Stanger has participated in countless powwows since he started dancing in 1973. Stanger, whose heritage includes Salish, Pend d’ Oreille and Coldville Indian, is an elder in the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation. He believes the powwows are important because they show non-Indians an aspect of Native American heritage. “I’m proud that we put these powwows on because it brings people together.”

He looks at powwows as a way to knock down prejudices and cultural barriers. “They’re good because people can understand our ways,” said Stanger, who teaches the Salish language at Hot Springs and Camas Prairie Schools and is considering offering an adult class.

Camas Prairie Elementary School has hosted a powwow for four years, said Donna Peck, the school’s sole teacher. She started the powwow at the school to teach the students about Native American heritage.

Students from Sanders County’s Hot Springs Elementary School and Paradise Grade School, as well as and Nk W usm, a Tribal school at Arlee, packed into the Camas Prairie School gymnasium to see the colorful dancers and listen to the Native American drums — which all have their own names, such as Sunrise, Post Creek and Yamncut. The powwow also included a potluck lunch and a lesson on teepee building by Quequesah, his son Charlie Quequesah, Chaney Bell, and Jesse Janssen Jr.

The elder Quequesah narrated as the other three formed the teepee in the grass next to the gymnasium. He told the crowd there’s no book on building teepees and there are a lot of ways to get the job done. He noted that it’s difficult to set up someone else’s teepee and that it was traditionally a woman’s job. Quequesah joked with the spectators throughout the assembly. He said he considered setting up his teepee in the river so that he’d have running water. “And I’d have a water bed,” he said.

The powwow opened with the “Grand Entry” ceremony led by Stanger. The participants in the Grand Entry carried the traditional eagle feather and included the U.S. and Canadian flags and the flag of the Flathead Nation.

Patrick Pierre, a Pend d’ Oreille Indian and a resident of Rainbow Lake, offered the opening prayer. Pierre, one of the tribe’s spiritual leaders, spoke in Salish and in English. The 79-year-old Pierre has been dancing at powwows since he was 5 years old when he was a student at Camas Prairie School in the 1930s.

Pierre said it was sad that the school was closing down and that there would be no more powwows at the school, but he added that he hopes they find a way to continue the powwows. Several of the dancers had attended the one-room schoolhouse, which has only three students this year.

John Stanislaw, who attended Camas School from 1938 to 1947, spoke for several minutes in his Salish language. Quequesah later translated much of Stanislaw’s speech, including relaying the sadness he felt on the closing of the school. Several others, including Peck, passed on their sentiments about the school closure.

The event was also attended by Elsie Dondanville, 96, who taught at Camas Prairie School in the early 1950s.

With short breaks, and an intermission for lunch, the dancing went from about 10 a.m. to shortly after 2 p.m. The potluck included traditional Indian dishes, such as fry bread and venison stew, but also featured “Sloppy Joes,” said Trudy Farrier, a staff member at Camas Prairie School.

The Native Americans were dressed in authentic handmade Indian garments, many covered with beads, drawings, animal bones and teeth, and feathers. Part of Pierre’s head dress was made out of skunk fur. Camas Prairie resident Darrell Whitworth, a nephew of Pierre, and one of the dancers, made a head dress out of bald and golden eagle feathers and had deer antlers as part of his regalia. Whitworth, 53, said he didn’t start powwow dancing until about 10 years ago, but goes to several every year.

Clark Matt of Arlee donned a bison head piece to go with his outfit for the powwow. Roger Shourds of Polson incorporated his Marine Corps legacy into his clothes, including an embroidery of the Marine Corps emblem, sergeant stripes and the Purple Heart medal he earned during his time fighting in Vietnam from 1965 to 1972.

Fifteen-year-old Isiah Russell of Ronan included an eagle skull and feathers on his back. Russell was one of more than a dozen children to participate in the event. Arlee resident Jon-A Matt, 5, was one of the youngest at the powwow, which was also attended by Margaret Mary Matt Coffey of Camas Prairie and at 86 perhaps the oldest Native American participant.

Peck, who’s been a teacher at Camas Prairie for six years, said the powwow was a great success and hopes it can continue, even without the active school. Peck, a descendent of Chataw Indian, said it’s an important event and a way to bridge cultures.

“We are a proud people,” said Quequesah, “especially when we come to a gathering like this.”