ONEIDA, Wis. — A tradition that dates to the 1800s celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Norbert Hill Center in Oneida over the weekend.
Oneida native Ernest Stevens Jr. has seen the celebration grow from its early days and said it’s amazing how far it has come.
“This is what we do, celebration and excitement and work with, in those days, it was other tribes,” said Stevens. “Now you can see all the tribes are here, but the communities around us are here with us too. And it’s great.”
Stevens said seeing his grandchildren practicing and learning about their culture gets him emotional. He said events like this are important for many reasons.
“[They are] Important because if we don’t have our culture, if we don’t have our language, we lose touch with each other,” said Stevens. “This is what brings us together. So when you see us come together here, we come together, all the folks from Green Bay and surrounding communities, they come here, we interact and we work together. That’s what makes the world go round.”
Stevens used to participate in the smoke dances years ago. Now, he leaves the dancing to the younger generations.
That includes dancer Payton Roberts, who has been dancing since he could walk. Roberts said being a part of this Pow Wow brings him closer to his family and other cultures.
“It means a lot, said Roberts. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of brotherhood, you know? A lot of fun. I like it.”
Stevens said he works to try to educate the younger generation as well as defend their rights as an independent nation. He said he could not do it without his family for support.
“When I was a little boy, we didn’t have a lot of this. We shared with other tribes,” said Stevens. “And these two generations have spent learning and bringing this culture and tradition back home.”
“But we still continue to share our relationships, our knowledge and our culture with all the tribes. The tribes have stood together here in Wisconsin and throughout this country. And this is just how we form our bond,” he said.
Stevens said he proudly wears his regalia as a symbol of who he is and part of the Oneida nation’s legacy in bringing people together.