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About eight years ago, Irene and Stan Purser and all their family were
going over Western Washington taking in powwows.
Sometimes Bud and I would go and see our relatives and just relax
and enjoy watching the dancers and the drumming.
Stan would stop in my office and he kept wishing our Tribal
Council could start our own Powwow!
Ron Charles was Tribal Chairman and one day I told him what Stan
was wishing for and his response was what has made me have so much
respect for his wisdom. He
said “if the S’Klallams
really want a Pow Wow they will probably make it happen but not because
the Council puts one on.”
So Stan talked to Tony McGrady and Steve Old Coyote and they said
they would do everything they could to help.
So, in February of 1986 we had our first Pow Wow and everyone
said they felt so relaxed and welcome here and that we should have one
every year. February turned
out to be a good month because not many other tribes had Powwows during
that month.
After Stan died, 4 years ago, we had a special ceremony in his
memory and named our annual Pow Wow the “Stan Purser Memorial Pow
Wow” by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe.
Article
taken from the S’Klallam News, February 2001 issue |
