For the first time in three decades, a powwow is coming back to downtown Detroit.
The North American Indian Association of Detroit (NAIA) is organizing the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Pow-Wow at Hart Plaza from noon to 6 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 13 in collaboration with Southeastern Michigan Indians Inc., American Indian Health and Family Services, and the Detroit Indigenous People’s Alliance.
Travis Schuyler, program director of NAIA of Detroit, describes the return as both a revival of tradition and a homecoming for indigenous people who once marched in parades down Woodward Avenue and celebrated at Hart Plaza.
“The Native community hasn’t had the opportunity to do something like this for 30 years,” Schuyler tells Metro Times. “Now that we have a chance to do it, some of us are emotional, and some of us feel nostalgic. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate who we are and come together like we used to and invite the public to come.”
Organizers say the event is more than a performance. Powwows are social gatherings rooted in Native tradition that bring together dancers in regalia, drum groups, and community members to honor ancestors, share culture, celebrate resilience, and enjoy indigenous food.
It’s also a chance for non-indigenous people to learn more about Native cultures.
“This is open to the public. There is no fee to get in,” Schuyler says. “Just come and hang out and experience Native culture as it should be represented. This is an opportunity for people who don’t know about the Native cultures to engage with us and disregard negative stereotypes.”
A powwow typically begins with a Grand Entry, where dancers gather to the sound of drums and songs. Dancers wear regalia that reflects family history and tribal identity, often decorated with beadwork, feathers, and fabric designs passed down for generations. Drum circles are considered the heartbeat of the powwow and provide the rhythm for traditional and contemporary songs.
The event includes contest dancing and will also include Hawaiian indigenous people who plan to highlight their culture.
In addition to interacting with participants, visitors can browse food and craft vendors.
Detroit City Councilwoman Gabriela Santiago-Romero and her team initiated and coordinated the event.
“Before Detroit was ‘Detroit,’ it was Waawiyaataanong,” Santiago-Romero said in a statement. “Detroit is on quite literally the ancestral and contemporary homeland of the Anishinaabe, or the Three Fires Confederacy. It’s important that we acknowledge this truth, which is why my office sought to work alongside our Indigenous community to bring Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration back downtown for the first time in three decades. The event will pay tribute to the original stewards of this land and celebrate the rich culture of our Indigenous community.”
For many indigenous people, the event marks a long-awaited opportunity to reconnect in the heart of the city.
“There are a lot of people who are excited about this, and emotions are running high because a lot of the individuals who were involved in these in the past are no longer here,” Schuyler says. “This is also to acknowledge and honor them for all they did for us. We want to pay it forward to our next generation.”
Schuyler says he hopes it will open a new chapter for Native traditions in Detroit.
“We are incredibly optimistic about the future of this event and are already looking forward to building on this success next year,” Schuyler says.
Santiago-Romero said events like this are important because they embrace diversity.
“I hope that this event will help to build and strengthen ties across communities to create a more inclusive Detroit, where all those who call this land home are seen, heard, and respected,” Santiago-Romero said.
Michigan is home to a vibrant Native community whose roots long predate statehood. The Anishinaabe people, including the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwe (Chippewa), and Potawatomi nations, have lived around the Great Lakes for centuries, with villages, trade networks, and sacred sites across what is now Michigan.
Their presence is reflected in place names, from Washtenaw to Saginaw, and in Detroit itself, which was once a key gathering and trading place and was named Waawiyatanong before French colonizers arrived in 1701.
Today, Michigan has a dozen federally recognized tribes, including the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Bay Mills Indian Community, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, among others.
In addition, many Native people from other tribal nations have made Detroit their home, especially during the 20th century when federal relocation programs encouraged families to move from reservations to cities.
That history helped shape organizations like the North American Indian Association, which has been a cornerstone of Detroit’s Native community for decades.
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