PO Box 179
Helena, MT 59624
(406)439-5631
lccpw@hotmail.com
www.lastchancepowwow.com
Last Chance Community Pow wow is ever-present in the community, we share our Native American culture, drumming, and dancing through an annual pow wow that celebrates/promotes tolerance of cultural differences.
Statement:
Last Chance Community Pow Wow hosts an annual pow wow celebration to empower and honor our youth by preserving our distinct Native American cultural and spiritual traditions. The pow wow and other cultural activities that take place throughout the year always incorporate our youth and instills pride among our local Native population, especially our youth in helping them to choose healthy lifestyles.
How we help:
Last Chance Community Pow Wow: Native Regalia and a Family
The Pow Wow Committee periodically puts on mini pow wows around the Helena area. One of the sites is Boulder. A native woman at Boulder, with mental and physical challenges, displayed a healthy desire to dance and she was always there to enjoy the pow wow drum and dancing. The idea of getting her a dance outfit began to take shape and, in six months, we finally found what we were looking for–a beautiful fancy shawl outfit in her size. We presented the outfit to her at the Last Chance Community Pow Wow and she was thrilled. As she transitioned to life outside of Boulder, we were happy to see her at other pow wow functions. Her family knows there is another “family” in Helena who stands ready to help nurture their daughter.
Last Chance Community Pow Wow: Connection with Friends and Family
Pow Wows are one way Native people preserve their rich heritage by gathering to celebrate and strengthen family ties and friendships. At our first pow wow, one Committee member was at the greeting table when a Northern Paiute woman from Nevada started asking her questions because she looked so familiar. The committee member was an adopted child raised by a family in Las Vegas. As the conversation continued, it became apparent that this Paiute woman knew the biological family of this Committee member.
A few months later, the Committee member made her first trip to the Northern Paiute Reservation to meet her “new” relatives. Over the last few years, she and her Nevada relatives visited back-and-forth and one brother came to live with her for a few months. Earlier this year, this committee member made her journey to the other side, but before her death, she was able to find her roots by connecting with her Nevada family.