Justice Florendo’s earliest childhood memory is of perching at the edge of the arena and watching carefully while dazzling dancers interpreted traditional moves in countless individual ways.
“I remember my father saying, ‘watch their feet and try to do what you see,’ ” said Florendo, 17, who will serve as the head male dancer at the Traditional Pow Wow at Heritage High School on March 7.
“Each person has their personal dance, and there are all kinds of dances — honor dances, prayer dances, medicine dances — but they’re all in step with the drum. The drum is what brings it all together,” he said.
Dancing, drumming, singing, solemn ceremony and great times with friends are all on the agenda at the pow wow, an annual outing that aims to draw together any and all Native Americans and anybody else who wants to plunge into that noisy, colorful, celebratory scene.
If You Go
What: Traditional Pow Wow, featuring drumming, dancing, regalia, song, artisans and food.
When: Noon to 10 p.m. March 7; Grand Entries at 1 and 6 p.m.; dinner break at 5 p.m.
Where: Heritage High School, 7825 N.E. 130th Ave., Vancouver.
Admission: Free.
Dancers dressed in what’s always respectfully called regalia (never “costumes”) will take the floor throughout the day to show off diverse styles while visiting drum groups take turns driving the big, booming beat. Vendors will offer traditional crafts and foods, and a raffle will support the Native American Parent Association of Southwest Washington.
“I love doing this because it’s beneficial to the community, not just to me,” said Florendo, who is Eastern Cherokee-Paint Clan, Wasco and Yakama. “We were taught to dance for the ones who can’t dance, the disabled and elderly. When we dance we are praying.”
Pow wows began in the late 1800s as a way to reconnect and solidify native communities that were losing their lands and being forced onto reservations. What started out as intertribal gatherings on the Great Plains eventually relocated to urban settings like community centers and school gymnasiums.
Reconnecting scattered communities and families is still a driving force behind pow wows today, said Teresa Florendo, Justice’s mother.
“It’s a way for people to come together and see family,” she said. “So many families are so spread out. We love to gather.”
Her son has been gathering at pow wows for even longer than he can remember, she added. “I brought all three of my children out on the dance floor when they were infants,” she said. “They learned that the drumbeat is the heartbeat. It merges with your mind and your body.”
A pow wow’s head dancers are supposed to serve as role models for the community, and this year there are two head female dancers: Priscilla Basilio-Laurence and Reyna Ruiz, both 15. While they’ve both been to lots of pow wows, taking a leadership role will be a new experience, they said.
“It’s my culture. It means a lot to me,” said Reyna, who is Northern Cheyenne and Apache. “I’ve done hip-hop dance but this is my first time doing this and I am really excited.”
“I just love to dance,” said Priscilla, who is Salish-Kootenai. “It’s my passion. It helps take stress away.”
Pow wows are mostly quite informal, and you are welcome to come and go as you please, but here are couple of important tips. Please don’t take photographs of dancers without their permission — which they’re usually happy to give. Also, don’t miss one of the two Grand Entry parades, set for 1 and 6 p.m. That’s when all dancers process into the arena in a colorful display that’s profoundly prideful. All veterans are introduced by name.
“We are big on respecting elders and veterans,” said organizer Dave Jollie.
