On the day Spokane celebrates the opening of the Expo ’74 world's fair, students at Flett Middle School will celebrate the life of the people who were Spokane's original inhabitants.
Their school is named after the late Spokane tribal elder Pauline Flett. Flett is the woman credited with saving her tribe’s ancestral language. The school is honoring her with its second annual powwow.
Flett Principal Matthew Henshaw says from the day the school opened its doors in the fall of 2022, he thought it important to find a way to honor Flett.
“We had already done some work to connect with the family and wanted to start teaching more about Pauline and her work to save the Salish language, so we felt like it was a natural fit," he said.
Henshaw says several hundred people, including students, attended last year's inaugural celebration.
Planning for this year's event has been a group effort, involving school staff, members of the region's Native community and Flett students. Henshaw says about 30 of them, 3-4% of the school’s student body, identify as Native. Non-Native students are also part of the planning team.
“We want it to be a learning powwow where students have an opportunity to learn more about their own culture, others’ culture, as well as to help lead and put on the powwow in years to come," he said.
The student preparation includes learning Native dances as part of their physical education classes. For several weeks, Flett students have learned from Lacey Abrahamson Bacon, a Shoshone Bannock tribal member and cultural artist who has won a variety of awards as a traditional dancer.
Students pair up for some of the dances. Bacon and her husband perform them first, then the group practices them together, working their way from one way end of the room to the other.
“I’m prepping the children how to do some social powwow dances and these include the owl dance, the rabbit dance, the friendship dance, or the circle dance. To make it fun, I’m also teaching them an Indian game called ’sweep the tipi,'" she said.
Saturday will be a long day. Henshaw says the powwow vendors will begin setting up their booths around 10 a.m. The first grand entrance will start at noon and kick off an afternoon of dancing. There will be a second grand entrance at 6 and an evening of festivities.
The public is invited to participate.
Abrahamson Bacon says holding a powwow in a Spokane school is a big deal.
“You know how history was told a certain way and Native American history was not included, but now with people acknowledging us, recognizing us, it’s an honor," she said.
