Hello Powwow Times Readers,
Today I will be reviewing the 2023 Enoch Cree Nation powwow. I will be talking about many different areas including the schedule, dancing, singing, bathrooms, vendors, and more. Let’s begin.
Schedule
Thankfully, Enoch ran a timely schedule. Junior adults finished dancing before midnight every night and had plenty of opportunity to rest up. However, a mishap took place on Friday. The announcers said that dancers did not have to dance into grand entry because they were not taking points. Yet when many dancers went over to the grand entry area anyways, the tabulators were taking points. Many dancers had to go and get their number scanned after, because they were not expecting to have to dance in with their number.
One thing that was nice however was that on Saturday, adults did not dance into the noon grand entry. Juniors, teens, and golden age did not have to dance into the 6 pm grand entry. This format benefitted the adults and their children and gave everyone enough time to get fully dressed for grand entries.
One thing that would have been nice is if the Sunday night finals could have happened earlier in the day. Junior adults did not dance until almost 10 pm so it gave very little time for people to pack up their camps and safely travel to their next destination.
Registration
iCreeAzn tabulated the powwow this year. It was great to see your name on the scanner. However, this made the registration process complicated. Having to fill in a ton of extra information (including mailing address) made it difficult to register other dancers when they may be travelling from farther away and would need friends or family’s help to register.
Bathrooms
Enoch’s porta-potty situation was all around pretty good. They seemed to be cleaned frequently and the porta-potties were filled with toilet paper and the wash stations were refilled.
Dancing
Beginning Friday night, juniors, teens, and golden age only had to dance exhibition and adults had one song. On Saturday, juniors, teens, and golden age got two songs in the afternoon and adults got two songs in the evening. On Sunday, juniors and teens got one song (except for the categories where people wanted one more) and adults danced two songs. Dancers got their choice of drum group for their 1st song which was nice because some drum groups are just better for certain categories than others. The dancing ended a little late on Sunday, but the schedule was followed pretty closely other than that.
Usually Enoch has more dancers than it did this weekend, but with probably six other powwows going on at the same time, many dancers may have decided to try and travel somewhere new.
There were some awesome specials this weekend. Danni Daysky Okemaw had a sidestep jingle special on Sunday, which was a highlight of the weekend for spectators and dancers alike. Some of the other specials included a men’s traditional spot special and a women’s fancy special.
Singing
The singing at Enoch was second to none. With Young Spirit as host drum, adult categories got some of the best songs of the summer. Drum groups like Poundmaker, Cree Confederation, Iron Swing, and Bad Company were among the best singing groups this weekend.
Vendors
It is always nice when powwows have a great vendor selection. Enoch hosted vendors like Osamuskwasis, with her beautiful selection of clothing and accessories. They also had many other vendors who were selling regalia, ribbon skirts and more. I look forward to seeing the vendors Enoch attracts next year.
Overall, Enoch was an excellent powwow. Despite the registration process and Friday’s grand entry miscommunication, it was worth the stop. As far as dancing and singing is concerned, Enoch always hosts some of the best on Turtle Island. We will be returning to Enoch next year for sure.
