ARLEE — Tradition. Pride. Culture. History.

Thousands flocked to Arlee for the Fourth of July weekend to celebrate the heritage of Native Americans during the 115th annual Arlee Celebration, an annual powwow to honor the traditions of the Pend’Orielle, Salish and Kootenai Tribes and many other tribes.

Games, dancing and drumming competitions are the main events that draw spectators from all over the world.  Each grand entry was grander than the next, with dancers in full regalia.  In a flash of movement and color, dancers both young and old stunned judges and onlookers alike.  Dance categories included traditional, fancy, male grass dance, and female jingle dance.  Dancers were judged on a point system that included them dancing in all grand entries and participation in the snake dance.

But without the drummers, there wouldn’t have been any music for the dancers to move to.  Each of the drum groups competed for the top honor in the drum contest, which included the drummers and singers for each group competing.

During the Intertribal Dance, everyone was encouraged to join in the dance, and many bystanders took the opportunity to dance alongside the competitors.  

Dancing and drumming aren’t the only reasons to attend a powwow.  If the chance ever arises, you should go to try the food.  Indian tacos, fry bread, and “rez” pups, a corndog like creation wrapped in fry bread instead of batter, were selling fast from local vendors.

Robert Matt, Jr. was working the counter behind the Renegade Grill’s booth.  His parents own the Renegade Grill in St. Ignatius, a restaurant that boasts being a “100 percent Indian-owned” business.  Their booth was donned with a sign encouraging people to support Native American vendors over the other food trucks that came in for the event.

Matt said he has attended more than 14 powwows.  When he was 11, he began dancing competitively in powwows as a grass dancer, a dance that represents the tall grass that used to grow in the area where the annual powwow now held.   

This year’s Arlee celebration honored Mary Lucy Parker, Noel Pichette, Harriet Stanislaw-McDougall, and Bud Barnaby for their contributions as elders who have worked to share their knowledge of Salish, Pend’Orielle, and Kootenai traditions and languages.