UM’s Kyiyo Pow Wow Set for April 19-20
MISSOULA –The Kyiyo Pow Wow, one of the nation’s longest running student-led powwows, will be held on campus Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, in the Adams Center.
The annual celebration honors the region’s Indigenous heritage and brings together hundreds of dancers and drummers from across the country. For the 55th year, the powwow will feature Native singing, dancing, story sharing and events.
Grand entry times are 6 p.m. Friday and at noon and 6 p.m. Saturday. For the first time, admission is free to all members of the public to attend the powwow.
“This year, the committee sat down and decided our major goal was to make Kyiyo free,” said University of Montana student and Kyiyo Native American Student Association member O’Shay Birdinground. “And with the determination of our five-person crew we did it, we achieved what we thought couldn’t be done.”
In 2021, UM established a $300,000 endowment to support the powwow in perpetuity. The endowment is in the name of Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 92. Old Person will be honored during the powwow as the Honorary Master of Ceremony.
For questions about specials, entries or other information, email kyiyo@umontana.edu. More information is online at https://www.umt.edu/kyiyo//kyiyopowwow/.
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Contact: Kyiyo public relations, kyiyo@umontana.edu.