TRAVERSE CITY — With the 100th National Cherry Festival happening this week in Traverse City, cultures from all around the Grand Traverse region are coming together.
One culture showcased on Tuesday was that of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians. They organized a Jingtamuk performance, more commonly known as a powwow.
Jesse Ward, a representative of Leelanau Sands Casino and the Grand Traverse Band Economic Development Corporation, helped coordinate the powwow. She is also a part of the Anishinaabe people.
Ward said it was nice to see the event happen, as it spreads the culture.
“I know that it exposes a lot of people,” she said. “They have visitors from all over the world here, coming and engaging.”
Ward has been going to Jingtamuks for around 50 years, and she has seen the evolution of the regalia the dancers wear.
“Those have really flourished throughout the years, becoming brighter and bigger and just more representative of the feeling,” she said.
The regalia is not a costume, said Ward. She said there are several kinds of regalia that people create and use to symbolize.
“You see the guys with the bustles, you see the ladies with the shawls, and then you also have the Jingle dress,” Ward said. “The Jingle dress is a healing dance, and so on their regalia, you’re going to find 365 cones for every day of the year.
“They’re putting their heart and their soul into those.”
Sandra Witherspoon is the tribal chairperson. She talked about how this collaboration between the festival and the tribe started over 30 years ago.
“Our former chairman, George Bennett, had asked a community member, Darlene Chippewa, and her family to come here and do some exhibition dancing,” Witherspoon said. “They did, and that was kind of the humble beginnings of this powwow. After that, it just started to get bigger and bigger every year.”
Witherspoon said the exposure was important because of the prevalence of the tribe in the region. The tribe has 4,000 members in the area.
“People sometimes don’t even know that we exist, that we are still here,” she said. “These are ancestral lands, so I just hope that the people know who we are and want to learn more about our history and what we have going on today.”
In addition to the appreciation for the powwow, Witherspoon hopes the Heritage Day parade comes back. The parade used to run on the same day as the powwow but hasn’t been a part of the festival since 2019.
“I think that was a very important thing that recognized the migrant workers and people that used to come and pick fruit here in this area.”
The chairwoman said they have sponsored the Cherry Festival for 30 years.