Nebraska Native American powwow to ring in 2015

SOUTH SIOUX CITY, Neb. (AP) – A New Year’s celebration in northeastern Nebraska will include plenty of dancing, but don’t expect the drunken revelry seen at some shindigs.

The New Year’s Eve Sobriety Pow Wow will be held Wednesday at the Long Lines Family Rec Center in South Sioux City, the Sioux City Journal reported. The Native American powwow will include music, dancing and the crowning of a Miss Nebraska Indian Community College Pow Wow Princess.

The powwow is the brain child of NICC extension director Jim Hallum, who wanted to hold an event that would end the year on an uplifting note.

“We’re providing people with another option on New Year’s Eve,” Hallum said. “Instead of welcoming in the year with alcohol, we want to do it in a much more spiritual way.”

Hallum hopes the powwow will become an annual event.

Siqoyia Hoving, 18, of Sioux City, Iowa, said such cultural events are important to young Native Americans.

“We need positive role models,” she said. “You will find them at powwows.”

For William Simmons, 20, of Onawa, Iowa, the powwow allows him to return to his roots.

“I learned how to do traditional dances a long time ago,” he said. “Participating in a powwow is a rite of passage for many people.”

The public is invited to the event, which will include a supper of Native American food to be served at 5 p.m.

“If a person has been curious about what goes on at a powwow, this will be a terrific introduction,” said Will Meier, of Sioux City.

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Information from: Sioux City Journal, http://www.siouxcityjournal.com