The University of Central Missouri hosted the Trading Moon Powwow for the 11th time on Nov. 9 from noon to 9 p.m. in the lower courts of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The event was the largest powwow UCM has had to this date, with the event hosting 76 dancers of various ages. Alongside a central arena where dancers and drummers perform, the event also hosted a Fry Bread stand as well as several vendors selling a variety of arts, crafts and food.
For Leslie Aguilar, a UCM alumna who graduated in 2002 and 2022, this was more than just a normal powwow. Aguilar was one of the planners of the event and she dances Southern Cloth, a form of Native American dance. As the daughter of Jesse Lee, who first brought the Trading Moon Powwow to UCM, this event means a lot to Aguilar each year. For her, this event is in part about honoring her father.
“We refer to this powwow in my family as ‘dad’s powwow,’” Aguilar said. “This is something he worked hard to get here. And so we are very fortunate that he did that. And so we, like I said, refer to this as ‘dad’s powwow.’ We dance in his honor. We actually have a table set up with some mementos of his. He was just super excited that this was happening. And so we’re just, we’re proud. We’re proud to be a part of it.”
For others, this was a way to connect to their heritage. Evan Birdno, a junior at UCM, called the event “exceptional.” Birdno, who is the UCM marching band Drum Major and 20 % Cherokee, enjoyed feeling the music and believes that the most important part of the event was the arena at the center.
“I thought it was the best thing ever, that they encouraged everybody to get out there. And everybody went out there. They were dancing in a big old circle and you felt part of it. You felt intrigued,” said Birdno.
Finally, for Beth Rutt, Director of Student Activities and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, bringing the Trading Moon Powwow back was a way to educate students about the world. Alongside hosting Eric Hernandez on Nov. 13, the powwow was a key part in the university’s celebration of National Native American Heritage Month. Through events like the powwow, students were able to better explore the many cultures of the world.
“What we really are trying to do in bringing in speakers of other cultures, whether it is the astronaut that we brought in earlier, or Eric Hernandez and the powwow, is that we want our students who are attending a state rural education system to realize that there are opportunities and there are people that perhaps they’ve never had any exposure to before, and to broaden their experiences into other cultures,” said Rutt.
Rutt also worked hard to get this powwow to be the biggest one yet, as she advertised it on a variety of platforms. Seeing the lower courts so full at the event brought her a lot of joy.
“We’ve done a lot of publicity this year, more than in the past,” Rutt said. “We did a radio show with the local radio station, 1450 KOKO with [Radio Host] Marion Woods. We also put posters out in the community. We have hit Facebook and Instagram really hard with our publicity, we’ve taken ads out in the Muleskinner, we’ve put it in the UCM daily and sent it in the RSO newsletter, hoping to broaden our audience. And I think, from the success of the powwow, that definitely we were reaping the rewards of that.”
