Winners of the Jordanna Thunder Hawk, Jr. Girls Traditional Special. Photo by Myra Thunder Hawk
Wambli Ska Wacipi celebrates fifth year
By Natalie Hand
Lakota Country Times correspondent
www.lakotacountrytimes.com RAPID CITY—What began, in 2010, as a small urban powwow to support Native youth has now become one of the region’s largest New Year’s powwows. The Wambli Ska New Year’s Powwow was held December 31, January 1-2 at the Rushmore Civic Center. This is the second year at this larger venue, due to the powwow’s growing popularity. “In those first few years, we had a small number of dancers and a few drums. This year we had 232 registered dancers and 18 drums, plus our host drum, Young Spirit,” noted Nora White Eagle, co-founder of the Wambli Ska Drum & Dance Group Society, which was founded in 2008.
Wambli Ska Dance and Drum Group Society Founders, Nora and Doran White Eagle. Photo by Natalie Hand
White Eagle, along with her husband Doran, saw a need to help the Native kids in the community. Both being avid powwow dancers, they noticed that there was no local youth drum group or dance club. They rented space in a local church and began inviting kids to come and learn to sing and dance. Eventually, their families joined in. “Once the parents and grandparents saw that their children were interested, they expressed the desire to learn how to make regalia. So we purchased sewing machines and materials to have a “craft night” while the kids were practicing their singing and dancing,” stated White Eagle. The group quickly outgrew the small church venue and moved to the Mother Butler center for their weekly practice. Well known drum groups from the region began attending the weekly event to support the cultural preservation initiative.
Winners of Calsee Has No Horse Jingle Special. From left: Calsee Has No Horse with daughter Elise, Lynssey New Holy, Denise One Star, Tess Knight, Winona Tahdooahnippah, Ryann White, Sunshine Arcoren. Photo by Natalie Hand
The families of the youth members help fund the program through weekly Indian taco sales. The balance is graciously covered by the White Eagle Family. White Eagle noted that the weekly dance and drum practice has been moved to The Oyate Community Center in the Lakota Homes subdivision. Practice registration begins at 5:00 p.m. each Wednesday. The focus is on youth dancers and youth drum groups, but organizers are hopeful that adult dancers and singers will continue to attend to guide the children. In mid-January, White Eagle plans to resume the weekly regalia making sessions as well at this location.
Winners of Jr/Teen Girls All Around Special. From left: Marvie Ferguson, Jazz Arcoren, Mianna Killspotted, Charlize Arcoren and Champion Elainna Red Shirt. Photo by Marietta Yellow Robe
The powwow committee formed the New Year’s event to showcase their singers and dancers. Due to the widespread popularity, a non-profit was formed in 2012 to support the growing annual New Year’s powwow. This year’s event awarded $25,000 in prizes. The new royalty for the Wambli Ska Wacipi are: Caylee White Eagle-Jr. Miss Wambli Ska; Emilie Miner-Miss Wambli Ska. This year’s host drum was champion drum group Young Spirit of Frog Lake, Alberta Canada that features recording artist Fawn Wood. The committee offered a surprise $2,000 drum contest, which was won by Red Leaf Singers of Rosebud, SD. Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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