Thu, Dec 04 2008
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Published July 05, 2008 07:08 pm - QUAPAW, Okla. — Hundreds of visitors watched brightly-colored dancers and listened to songs of the “O-Gah-Pah” people — the downstream people — as the Quapaw tribe began its three-day powwow. The name “Quapaw” is a derivative of “O-Gah-Pah.” Quapaw tribe celebrates history with powwow By Debbie Robinson
drobinson@joplinglobe.com QUAPAW, Okla. — Hundreds of visitors watched brightly-colored dancers and listened to songs of the “O-Gah-Pah” people — the downstream people — as the Quapaw tribe began its three-day powwow. The name “Quapaw” is a derivative of “O-Gah-Pah.” The tribe has held the annual event, which began Friday night, for 136 years. The powwow continued with a gourd dance Saturday followed by other dance contests, such as teen grass, men’s traditional and men’s fancy dance. This year’s event was held on tribal grounds southeast of Quapaw and occurred as the tribe was opening its casino near the state line. Betty Harris, of Joplin, attended the powwow for her second time. She first came 40 years ago, when she taught school in Shawnee Mission, Kan. “It’s huge, and it’s beautiful,” Harris said. Forty years ago, she and another teacher who attended the powwow sat on bleachers all night and watched the dancers. Her interest in powwows, she said, started when she lived in Colorado and was involved in a Mountain Man rendezvous. “I have an elk dress, and I started making beads after studying the tribe,” she said. Harris also said she was attracted by the pageantry of the powwow. “It’s beautiful and you learn a lot,” she said. Eight-year-old Zach Wahweotten, of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, said he has been dancing since he was two. “It’s fun,” he said. Zach’s mother, Angie, said her son was entered in the junior fancy division. 
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