"The 35th Annual Time Out and Wacipi is completed, and getting ready for the 36th program probably is far from the thoughts of UND Indian students.

After all is said and done, I can say I believe the powwow was a success. There are, however, some issues that remain open.

The issue that made this powwow different was its use of "invited drums only." When word of that policy reached the newsroom, I was asked about it, as it seemed to be confusing to some Native and certainly non-Native people. I told the reporters who asked that I thought they'd misunderstood. We don't exclude anyone. Everyone is invited, I told them.

To my chagrin, I was wrong. Only nine drums were invited to the Wacipi. The cutoff excluded many of the North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota drums."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Powwow may want to rethink drum policy (The Grand Forks Herald 4/10)