United Houma Nation to have traditional dance, food at annual powwow

The big picture: The powwow is free and is inside the air-conditioned Barry P. Bonvillain Civic Center on Saturday and Sunday.

• Non-native people are welcome, says Principal Chief Lora Ann Chaisson.
• The event will have traditional song and dance performances along with native craft, art and food vendors.
• About 10,000 people are expected to attend, says Jared Crosby, the chairperson of the powwow.

Zoom in: The grand entry will be the best time to see all the dancers, Crosby says.

• They'll do it twice on Saturday (1pm and 7pm) and once on Sunday (1pm). There are also are various categories in which the dancers compete for prize money.
• The dancers are from multiple tribes across the country.
• "The powwow world, it's kind of similar to the rodeo circuit, where every weekend across the country, there's a dance going on," Crosby said, and participants travel to "show off their unique dance styles and share their traditions."
• YoungBird Singers, a Grammy-nominated drum group from Oklahoma, will also perform.

If you go: The powwow is known for its fry bread and Indian tacos, which are also sold at Jazz Fest. The United Houma Nation runs that booth too.

• Fry bread is a culturally significant flatbread that's fried.

• The Indian tacos are made with fry bread as the base and filled with meat and other toppings.
• They'll also have Southern classics like poboys, Chaisson says. The state donated the shrimp for the event.

Zoom out: The United Houma Nation held their first annual powwow last year after a hiatus from COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida.

• Ida devastated their new headquarters in Houma, which they had just moved into. The city of Houma is named after the indigenous people.
• The powwow focuses on disability awareness, with an emphasis this year on autism.

What's next: The powwow starts at 11am Saturday and runs through Sunday afternoon. See the full schedule.

Go deeper: United Houma Nation seeks federal recognition