Community gathers for 50th annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow at Magic Island

News admin August 31, 2026 0 Comments

Community gathers for 50th annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow at Magic Island

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Native drum groups marked 50 years of gathering to express their culture during the annual Honolulu Intertribal Powwow.

Dozens gathered at Magic Island on Sunday for the powwow.

Sierra Waskewitch of the Onion Lake Cree Nation in Canada said the beat of the drums provides profound comfort.

“Every time I start dancing, I hear drums and my brain just gets quiet and I’m very peaceful,” Waskewitch said.

She emphasized that the gathering is open to the entire community. “You don’t have to be a dancer… it doesn’t matter if you’re from here or not. You can come watch.”

Organized by the Hoʻopili Tribal Council, this year’s theme was “From the Footsteps Behind Us to the Generations Ahead,” to give thanks and acknowledge elders and the foundation they laid.

“There’s over 500 different tribes throughout the United States, and we’re only a part of a fraction of it. It’s such a beautiful feeling to be a part of this powwow, to be able to share my culture,” said Thomas Yellowhorse Davis of Lakota, Alaska.

Vee Timentwa, an attendee from Washington, added, “Some of us younger ones are starting to carry that on because there was a time period when we weren’t able to you know dance or speak our languages and we’ve tried to revitalize a lot of that.”

Velva Suki, a senior at Kamehameha Schools, added that Indigenous and Hawaiian people are connected through their histories of stolen land and stolen experiences.

“(It) gives me a different perspective on what it means to be an Aloha ʻĀina advocate, what it means to be an Indigenous woman,” she said.

She added that passing down cultures and experiences means “we are still here.”

“That means a lot for us to basically still be here and be able to celebrate younger people and share our culture and just have a voice,” she said.