Josiah

Not sure if this belongs in this thread
But here we go

I was at a Powwow last weekend
And the flyer said that all registrations will be closed at 6:30pm
The MC announced to everyone that registration will be closed at 6:30pm alll afternoon

So at about 6:35 this one lady comes walking not dressed out but in street clothes and rushes to the sign up table and is told no she cant register
so she goes to the next committee memeber and the next and next and finally they relented and she was given a number!

So does this happen often?
Do the committees feel obligation to allow all people to dance or should we abide by the PUBLISHED RULES?

The other part to this was she is a well known Buckskin Dancer and usually wins around these parts

Does this make a difference???

I have a good idea what the answers are
But I want to get some insight into what committees and Head staff think about this

I see this all the time with dancers rushing about at the very last min to get dressed...

Even at Red Earth I saw this and this was a Three day Powwow and they all knew the times!!!!!

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Wyldwolf52

I would say that once a rule is broken, there is no rule. Kinda like a all for one and one for all.

WocusWoman

I'm sure this happens all the time. HOWEVER, if I were in charge, she would have been **** outa luck! She found a sucker, whom gave in.

Sweetsage02

Exactly...

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But Boss, I am working!!......on finding my next pow-wow that is!

Zeke

Which is why, as a leadership structure, there should be only one person in charge once the powwow begins.

It doesn't matter who it is, committee chair, organizer, chairman of the tribe, etc: but the buck MUST stop somewhere. (Not within a muddle of people, with anonymous votes, determining ad hoc policy as they go...)

ONE person, they make a call, and the dance lives with it.

"That's leadership."

Wojapi4Me

What's the big deal? Just let her register. Man, I'm always amazed at how much is being lost in the thinking and ways of putting on a gathering for people...i.e...being a pow wow committee.

She came there to support the dance and who cares if she was a little late. The committee should have said, "Good to see you, how was your trip?" I remember being able to register for contests even just before the contest was held itself...and I'm not that old LOL

Treat your guests better than you'd expect to be treated and you can never go wrong.

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If pro is the opposite of con, then wouldn't progress be the opposite of...lol

Kiwehnzii

Keeping registration open til about 1/2 to 1 hour after grand entry should be cool.

Everyone knows the advertised time, but......... s**t happens. Yes, letting people slide is.... good public relations.
As long as it's not 5-6 hours or something like that.

Zeke

Personally, I think "good public relations" is doing what you've advertised -- ALL DAY -- that you're going to do: especially if it was on the flyer.

Josiah

Well I have heard many different views on this
My point is this:
This was a Contest Powwow
Nothing Traditional about that
And don't get me started about Contest Powwows either I think they are ruining a good thing but that is another thread!

But rules are made to govern gatherings of People and without rules we have chaos and anarchy...
Powwow committees already have people *****ing at them about the judging and the food and all the other things that people will have time to ***** about so don't need another thing that people can complain about...

Even in Traditional ways there are definite protocols on how to do things and some grandma would have said a thing or two to this dancer about ALLLL the other women are dressed and ready to go why are we waiting for you!

The fact that they let her dance at all was due to the fact that ndn's are curtious for the most part to each other...

I guess what struck me at the time was the way the woman breezed in like no big deal and knew that she would be allowed to dance and then breezed out to dress, at 15 min to grand entry and then only came inside to dance her category.

To me supporting the powwow is enjoying the whole thing:
Gourd dancing at 1:00 pm, Dinner at 5:00 pm, listening to the MC tell bad jokes
Buying raffle tickets watching grand entry at 7:00 pm and the evening program of contest songs and all the dancing that is associated with it. Then leaving with good songs floating in my head for the drive home at around 1100 pm.
But then I don't contest so I suppose it would be best to minimize your time at the powwow so that you can make it to the next one as fast as you can!

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Wojapi4Me

I understand your point of view Josiah, but mine is that pow wow committees should act the same no matter if contest $$ is involved or not. When you have commitees willing to give up basic ways of acting and doing things just because it's a money dance, then you lose things...and haven't we lost enough?

In terms of changing things, the BIA and the feds have nothing on contest dances and casinos.

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If pro is the opposite of con, then wouldn't progress be the opposite of...lol

Josiah

I totally agree with what your saying...

We all need to act better when its just us and stop acting like something we are not
Afterall we are gathered sharing a common interest if not here
Then where would we????
Too much has been lost and that is the saddest thing of all...

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Babe

back to your question.......

I know what you're talking about because I have seen it and experienced it before! Sometimes the committee has to agree if it is such a big deal to let the late dancers slide. I agree with having registration open for a half hour or so depending on how much money is at stake. If the winnings are a couple of hundred dollars and it's a laid-back type of powwow, then sure, why not let them register late? Grand entry is probably going to be on Indian time anyway, plus committees are thankful to see people coming in from far away (small powwow: be hospitable). But if we're talking a $grand (give or take) at a Big powwow for 1st, the competition steps up and timing is everything. You're late - the gate's shut at said time - rules say you may register in the morning - no questions asked. Yes, the committee may hear complaints, but the complaints are always going to flow in no matter what you do or don't do.

Committees can decide to be lenient on some rules (not EVERY rule) at their own discretion depending on the situation and experience of the powwow. If the committee decides to bend a rule a bit, just remember to let everyone know somehow so everyone has the same opportunity.

Nezbah