
- Details
- By Levi Rickert
ALLENDALE, Mich. — The sounds of bells on ankles were heard as dancers prepared for the powwow mixed the arouma of Indian frybread being prepared, as parents assisted put finishing touches on their children's regalia, in the fieldhouse on Saturday. Shortly after 1 p.m. the 22nd Annual Celebrating All Walks of Life Powwow was underway at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Allendale, Michigan, near Grand Rapids, this weekend.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is the first time the powwow has been held since 2019 at GVSU.
"It was nice to see the return of the powwow after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. To welcome back and to celebrate with our community is exciting," Lin Bardwell (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians), assistant director in GVSU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs, said.

Shannon Martin (Potawatomi/Ojibwe) served as the emcee. She guided attendees to the powwow etiquitte throughout the powwow.
Native News Online's reporter, Neely Bardwell (Odawa), is a fancy shawl dancer.
For Om Mohapatra, an Asain Indian, Saturday's event was his first powwow he ever attended. A student at Lansing Community College, he attended with his girlfriend, who is Odawa.
https://nativenewsonline.net/currents/photos-from-the-grand-valley-state-university-powwow#sigProIdb1a7d6055d
More Stories Like This
MMIP Red Dress Installation Vandalized in AlaskaNCAI Mid Year Underway on Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Homelands
Native News Weekly (June 3, 2023): D.C. Briefs
House Passes Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal; How Native American Members of Congress Voted
History Made as First Navajo Appointed U.S. Federal Judge in California
Native News is free to read.
We hope you enjoyed the story you've just read. For the past dozen years, we’ve covered the most important news stories that are usually overlooked by other media. From the protests at Standing Rock and the rise of the American Indian Movement (AIM), to the ongoing epidemic of Murdered and Missing Indigenous People (MMIP) and the past-due reckoning related to assimilation, cultural genocide and Indian Boarding Schools.
Our news is free for everyone to read, but it is not free to produce. That’s why we’re asking you to make a donation to help support our efforts. Any contribution — big or small — helps. Most readers donate between $10 and $25 to help us cover the costs of salaries, travel and maintaining our digital platforms. If you’re in a position to do so, we ask you to consider making a recurring donation of $12 per month to join the Founder's Circle. All donations help us remain a force for change in Indian Country and tell the stories that are so often ignored, erased or overlooked.
Donate to Native News Online today and support independent Indigenous journalism. Thank you.