This year’s event is an educational, non-competitive powwow to bring our culture to the public and to engage our children in the fun of the old-school outdoor powwows.
In 2023, before his passing, our Honoree, Mr. James Yellowfish, counseled the Chair of our event to stay true to the strength of our organization: EDUCATION.
He reminded us of the fundamental powwow values.
1. We bring together friends, family, and community in fellowship.
2. We are dancing for those who can’t.
3. We are sending our prayers up on songs.
We are honoring James Yellowfish and his family this year. James and the Comanche Thunder Drum and singers have been integral to our Native community for many years. We have always been humbled by their guidance and support, which has helped us to learn and grow as an organization.
Through the James Yellowfish Memorial Powwow, we celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Comanche Nation and represent the many contributions that James Yellowfish and his family made to our community. His legacy lives on through his family and Comanche Thunder. James was always someone we could call upon to volunteer when we needed a song. We know his tires traveled many miles on the powwow trails, and his voice carried many beautiful prayers that benefited our Native community.
Our Head Staff are all friends and family of the Yellowfish family.
Head Singer: Tim Yellowfish, Comanche
Head Gourd Dancer: Ricky Yellowfish, Alabama Coushatta, Comanche
Head Young Man: Desi Voice, Mvskoke Creek, Oglala Lakota, Standing Rock Sioux
Head Young Lady: Susie Voice, Mvskoke Creek, Oglala Lakota, Standing Rock Sioux
Master of Ceremonies: Harold Rogers, Diné
Arena Director: Daniel Alvarez, Apache, Comanche
Color Guard: Danial Alvarez
We hope our Powwow will inspire others to learn more about Native American culture and history. We thank the Yellowfish family for letting us celebrate James’ life with them, and we are delighted to welcome them back into our powwow circle on April 6th and 7th, 2024.
We have a pamphlet you can download that explains some of the most common dance styles and traditions. We have also included some suggestions about cultural etiquette at powwows and art markets. These are general suggestions and may not apply to all powwows.
Every powwow committee and its head staff set the protocols for the powwow. If you travel across the country, you will see the differences between indoor and outdoor powwows, Northern and Southern powwows, and even state-to-state differences.
If a powwow is advertised on social media, it is usually open to the public. Our powwow welcomes the public, and there will be many opportunities to dance in the intertribal and social dances. Tribal enrollment and CDIB cards are not needed for dancers.
We do not feel our powwow is appropriate for hobbyist dancers. We want to stay true to our mission by providing a safe environment for our dancers and drummers, and we like to represent the regalia, songs, and dance styles passed down through generations of elders. For more information or clarification, you can contact us at iiamericas.org@gmail.com.
Our powwow schedule may change based on recommendations from the drum and head staff. We ask our patrons to trust that we always have a good reason for any changes.
Saturday April 6th, 2024
9:00 am: Gates open
9:30 am Gourd Dance
11:30 am Line-up started for Grand Entry
11:45 am Grand Entry
2:00 pm Wedding Vow Renewals for IIA Founders Gregory and Cathy Gomez (Powwow Grounds)
4:00 pm Powwow closing
Entertainment and Art Market Continues until 8:00 p.m.
Sunday April 7th, 2024
Gates open: 10:00 am
11:00 am Powwow begins
3:00 pm Powwow ends
4:00 pm Event closes
Mixed into our powwow schedule will be excellent special performances by
Michael Roberts, Choctaw, Chickasaw
19-time World Championship Fancy War Dancer
We welcome all dancers to help with exhibition dancing! Use this link so we know you are coming, and we can feed you! Dancers, if you would like to camp for free, let us know!
Featured Straight Dancer
Terry Tsotigh, Kiowa
2-time World Championship Straight Dancer
Special thanks to the support of more Championship dancers attending:
Harold Rogers, Dine’
Fancy Dancer
Dennis and Margie Begay, Dine’
Fancy Dancer and Southern Cloth
John and Wesley Roady, Lakota
Grass Dancers
Rose Roady, Lakota
Jingle Dress Dancer
Desi Voice, Mvskoke Creek, Oglala Lakota, Standing Rock Sioux
Fancy Dancer
Susie Voice, Mvskoke Creek, Oglala Lakota, Standing Rock Sioux
Southern Cloth
Daniel Alvarez, Apache, Comanche
Straight Dancer
And many more friends from the powwow trail.
We will have many exciting exhibition dances, social dances, intertribal dances, and fun for the kids. Special guest dancers from the Polynesia and Aztec communities. Our powwow is also an opportunity to recognize people in our community who have achieved honors or are requesting a particular song or prayer. We want our gathering to be flexible to meet those needs.
*All Nations have ceremonial dances, and the protocols at those gatherings are different than for powwows. Many ceremonial dances are closed to the public; some should be attended by invitation only. Photography of any kind is usually discouraged.
Our 2023 Celebration was amazing! We wish to acknowledge again the wonderful help from community members who stepped up and stepped in when Mr. Yellowfish passed away just days before the event. It impacted the entire community, these people helped us begin the process of mourning and remembrance. A very special word of gratitude for Erica Bread. She came and sang a song of love in honor of James. It touched us deeply and helped soften the blow of this loss. Thank you again, Erica.
| HEAD GOURD SINGER: Al Santos – Honoring Tim Yellowfish HEAD GOURD DANCER: Michael Tongkeamha – Honoring Ricky Yellowfish HEAD YOUNG MAN: Sinteska Roberts – Honoring Desi Voice HEAD YOUNG LADY: Cherokee Bread HEAD DRUM: Ottertrail Singers honoring Comanche Thunder singers AD: Daniel Alvarez MC: Harold Rodgers | |
