Kent School District is hosting a Native American Back to School Powwow from 1 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12, in the cafeteria at Kent-Meridian High School. Members of the community are invited to attend this free event to kick-off the school year alongside the Native American community. The Powwow is intended to educate, promote and inform students and community about the existing indigenous and Native American peoples living in the local and surrounding areas.
“It is essential to perpetuate the Native American culture and celebrate the usual and accustomed practices that are and have been, since time immemorial,” said Theresa Lockrem, Kent School District Native American academic and cultural liaison.
This event includes Native American vendors with food and handmade items, entertainment during the dinner break, and it offers attendees the opportunity to learn about Native American art, culture and traditions. Notable individuals within the Native American community such as Alaskan Chilkat blanket weaver Anna Brown Ehlers, artist and educator Louie Gong, and Seattle flutist Paul Che oke ten Wagner are invited to showcase their art and music, and also deliver messages about the importance of Native American culture. Polynesian dancers from Ke Liko A’e O Lei Lehua Halau with Aunty Claire Cortez and Andrew Morrison, mural artist of The Seattle Indian Heritage School, now known as Robert Eaglestaff Middle School, will be in attendance as well.
Ehlers is one of the most accomplished Chilkat blanket weavers of modern times. Her world renowned crafts are exhibited at museums around the world and on cruise ships around Alaska. She has received various accolades and international recognition for her lifelong passion of weaving from the First Peoples Fund and United States Artists Rasmussen Fellowship. Gong is an artist, educator, and public speaker who was raised in the Nooksack tribal community. As a former Child and Family Therapist, he has received international recognition for his work that defies categorization and addresses racial and cultural identity. Gong is currently a member of the board for MAVIN, a national non-profit that raises awareness about mixed race individuals and families.
The Back to School Powwow is organized and sponsored by the district’s Native American Program and United Way of King County with additional funding support from the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Tulalip Tribes.
The district supports the Native American/Alaska Native American Education Program funded by Federal Title VII Grant monies based on Native American student counts and administered through student services. The program is designed to assist Native American students to meet district and state academic standards and offers resources for native students and families to create a strong sense of community.
For more information about the Powwow, visit the KSD Native American Program homepage at http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/site/Default.aspx?PageID=356.
