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By Jan-Mikael Patterson
The Navajo Times
GALLUP - Diane Tolino, 21, thought organizing a powwow would be easy.
"It's tough," she said. "You have to go to different places to ask for donations."
Tolino is organizing the upcoming Toys for Tots Contest Powwow Dec.4 to 5 at the Gallup Junior High School gymnasium.
Despite the difficulty of finding donations, the powwow is going to happen.
Admission for the event is either a toy with a minimum value of $5 or patrons can pay $5. Organizers encourage the public to give a toy to bring joy to a child.
Toys for ages newborn to 17 are requested and the proceeds will go directly to the Toys for Tots organization overseen by Gallup Police Officer Owen Pena, Tolino said.
Pena has been with the Gallup police for nine years and this is the third year the toy drive will supply toys to underprivileged families.
Christmas 2003 was the first year the toy drive expanded from the Gallup area to McKinley County. He said the drive served 3,800 kids last year, a jump from 2,300 for each of the previous two years.
"We're looking at the same numbers for this year," Pena said. "I don't know anything about powwows but she (Tolino) is spearheading the powwow, which is great.
"I told her I probably won't be able to assist her as much but we will collect all the toys she collects," he said. "She came to me and that's probably something that has not happened nationally with putting up a toys for tots powwow. Hopefully it will become an annual event."
Relatives and friends of Tolino are donating prizes to sponsor all dance categories, she said. Sponsors will pay contest money to the winners.
Organizing, which began in January, has been an up-and-down ride for Tolino because seeking sponsorship from Gallup businesses is frustrating.
"Some of them (businesses) said, 'We already donated so much,' 'We gave so much already,' or 'We don't do that,'" she said. "Some of them said they don't do powwows and that they do athletic events only.
"It gets me mad," she said.
Tolino feels that businesses should donate to Native Americans because if it were not for them the local businesses that sell arts and crafts would not survive.
"We're just asking them to donate something small," said Christina Tolino, Diane Tolino's mother.
Being turned down for sponsorships is heart wrenching because the event is geared towards children and Diane Tolino believes people should be giving since not all families are fortunate.
"It's for the little kids," Diane Tolino said. "They don't know what we go through but when you give a kid a new toy and they give you a big smile it's heartwarming. It makes all the bad things go away."
This is Diane Tolino's second try at organizing a powwow. The first try was also for Toys For Tots for the Crownpoint Agency in 1996.
"(The kids) really enjoyed it," Christina Tolino said. "We were pleased."
"The outcome was pretty good too," Diane Tolino said. She doesn't remember how many toys were donated but most were given to children at the powwow and what was leftover was given to the Navajo police's Crownpoint District to distribute.
"I think this is great because powwows are very strong in the area," Pena said. "Powwows generate a lot of people and this will tie in Native Americans with the toys for tots."
In 1996 Diane Tolino wore the Miss Edgewater Princess crown and her older sister, Donna Tolino, was the Bear Clan Queen.
The Miss Edgewater crown was awarded to her at the Edgewater Powwow in Mariano Lake, N.M. The Bear Clan crown was awarded at the Tsayatoh Powwow.
Diane Tolino has danced in the powwow circuit since she was five years old. Her adopted grandparents - Priscilla Schrock of Gallup and the late Paul Pacheco from the Santo Domingo Pueblo - initiated her into the powwow circle.
When asked what Christmas meant to her, Diane Tolino said, "It's a time to get together with family, laugh, enjoy and celebrate a birthday."
Currently she is raising money to accommodate the head staff hired for the powwow and is seeking public support. The nonprofit event is organized and planned by Diane Tolino and family.
Information: Diane Tolino, 3410 Camino La Tierra, Gallup, N.M. 87301 or 505-863-4812.
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