April 22, 2026 | Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor
In Native American cultures across the country, powwows are times of gathering, celebration and culture. The powwow put on by members of the Multicultural Student Union and Native Indigenous Culture Club executive boards brought this to campus for the 31st time in Western’s history.
Planning for the powwow began in August of last year, when members of the MSU and NICC executive boards met every Monday to discuss the logistics that went into planning. By December, the powwow committee was formed and continued these weekly meetings to ensure that all the parts were coming together.
This year, the powwow was spearheaded by Cheydon Herkshan, the events director of MSU and president of NICC. A senior and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, this event held special meaning for Herkshan.
“This is just such a beautiful event to be able to host, as a Native person,” she said. “Being in an institution that has a 2% population of Indigenous students is a little disheartening sometimes, so it’s amazing that I’m able to plan an event like this.” As of Fall term 2024, Western’s enrollment of American Indian and Alaskan Native students was at 1.3%.
The day before the powwow, members of MSU and NICC, as well as other volunteers, marked areas for vendors and drum groups, set up concessions and prepared the Wolves Athletic Center for the event.
The day of, vendors arrived at 9 a.m. to set up their tables, with Whipman Ed Goodell and Master of Ceremonies Anthony Quenelle arriving shortly after. This was Goodell’s third year as Whipman at Western, though it is a role he has been in at various institutions for many years.
“My wife introduced me to a man who she grew up with … he was one of the members of the Portland Indian community and he was the Whipman prior to me,” Goodell said. “Growing up, he was one of the Elders, and then at some point, he decided he was getting old enough that he wanted to pass it on, and I was the one he chose to train, teach, mentor and show what it was that needed to be done.”
Traditionally, Whipmen were appointed to encourage dancers to get up and dance, as well as help maintain proper etiquette among dancers and spectators during a powwow. While the title of Whipman is ceremonial today, it was the Whipman’s or whip bearer’s job to make sure dancers danced for every song they were obligated to dance to by tradition.
“I do whatever I’m asked to do, but that means taking care of a lot of ceremony,” Goodell explained. “I’m here to kind of help and make sure it’s taken care of in a good way.” He then recounted a story when a man named Robert Van Pelt was trying to organize a powwow at the school he was attending, and was confused about the role of Whipman.
“They said, ‘Ed, he is the custodian of our ceremonies. He doesn’t necessarily perform the ceremonies himself, but he is the one who takes care of them. He is the one who makes sure that we take care of them.’”
“What’s the best thing for me is being able to be here for situations like this, where the young people are carrying on what we do. What we do as a community, as a people, to be able to develop,” Goodell added. “Just being able to watch our community grow, grow up and mature, have the younger ones caring and showing that they are paying attention to what the elders say and do, and how it’s supposed to go.”
Along with the roles of MC and Whipman, powwows traditionally have a host drum. This year, the intertribal group Turquoise Pride was honored with that responsibility, providing the central heartbeat that guided the dancers and brought the arena to life.
“We originally didn’t have a host drum,” Herkshan said. “We had reached out to three different groups, and nobody had responded to us. But eventually, everything got figured out, and it was a good success.” Other drum groups were also invited to perform, with two additional groups joining; together, the three groups shared the songs throughout the event. Turquoise Pride, however, was in charge of leading songs for the Grand Entry, Flag Song, Retreat Song and any honor and prayer songs.
Doors opened at noon, with the first Grand Entry beginning at 1 p.m. Intertribal, round and exhibition dances followed, and a dinner break began at 5 p.m. During the break, Indian tacos were served, and a performance by Fuego Nativo de Las Américas energized participants, showcasing vibrant traditional dance and music before the evening’s events resumed. The second Grand Entry began at 7 p.m., marking the start of the evening’s next session, with a dance lineup that mirrored the first half.
“I want to give a really big shout-out to my Native Indigenous Culture Club. They helped extremely well. Every single one of them was a part of our powwow committee,” Herkshan said. “I would also like to shout out the Multicultural Student Union. Everybody on the (executive) team helped out tremendously.”
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
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