Neerchokikoo Powwow: Honoring Our Youth, Elders and Sacred Land

The Native American Youth and Family Center hosts its first ever Neerchokikoo Powwow!

The Native American Youth and Family Center hosts its first ever Neerchokikoo Powwow May 14–15, 2010. The purpose of this powwow is to celebrate the purchase of the new NAYA building from Portland Public Schools on a historical Chinook village site, Neerchokikoo.

The event will kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday evening with a traditional ground blessing; later, there will be an honoring for the Northwest Area Foundation which helped to make the purchase of the building possible. On Saturday, the powwow will also include a dinner for the public and an honoring of youth and elders in the Native community.

Powwows include Native American dancing, drumming and other opportunities to experience Native culture. At this event, there will be Native artists, vendors and food. Expect to experience Portland-area host drum Four Directions, led by Harold Paul. Dancers will be dressed in colorful regalia and will be dancing for the community.

Once called Neerchokikoo, the site on which NAYA now stands was a thriving village for the Multnomah Chinook people well into the 20th century. It had more than 126 dwellings and a year-round encampment. In June of 2006, NAYA Family Center moved to this site; NAYA staff officially asked the Chinook community for permission to make their new home on Chinook homeland.

The powwow will also include a dinner for the community and honoring of youth, elders, veterans and the Northwest Area Foundation which helped to make the purchase of the building possible.

Friday, May 14 - Saturday, May 15, 2010

NAYA Family Center

5135 NE Columbia Blvd

Portland, OR 97218

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For more information call Cori Matthew at 503-288-8177 x208 or e-mail corim(at)nayapdx(dot)org. Everyone is welcome!