Hozhoni is a Diné word from the Navajo language which directly translates to beauty, balance and harmony, Selena Gonzales, 2024-25 Hozhoni Ambassador and First Attendant, said.
Stories from dancers and drummers highlight the community at the 59th annual Hozhoni Days Powwow, held in the Whalen Gymnasium on March 28-29.
“I’ve been to a lot of good powwows but this one is probably the best one,” Trevor Foster, Master of Ceremony, said.
This powwow is hosted by the Wanbli Ota student organization and is the longest running student-led event that takes place at Fort Lewis College, Gonzales said.
The Hozhoni Ambassador and First Attendant, Audrey Leanetti and Selena Gonzales respectively, are active with Wanbli Ota student organization, they said.
In preparation for the powwow, they were reaching out, setting things up and getting things ready for the new Hozhoni Ambassadors, they said.
Something that the Hozhoni Ambassadors want people to remember from this year's powwow is the community it brings, Leonetti said. It is welcoming and students should have the encouragement to come and ask questions, Gonzales said.
“A lot of healing took place here,” Trevor said. “There was a lot of dancing, of course, singing so it was a beautiful powwow.”
‘Just who I am’
Asa Worthington, 21, is a Gourd dancer from Oklahoma that was given an important and exciting role.
Worthington is a second year student at Fort Lewis College, and was given the honor of Head Gourd at the 59th annual Hozhoni Days Powwow.
He is from Carnegie, OK, and is enrolled with the Caddo Nation, he said. He’s also part Kiowa and Mississippi Choctaw, he said.
He grew up going to powwows and watching his father and uncles dance, he said.
The Gourd Dance, which is his main dancing style, is a prominent dance that is done at ceremonies, sundances or powwows, he said.
Worthington dances for many reasons such as the love he has for his family and culture, he said. Another reason is the respect for the stories told by his elders, as there was a time when dancing wasn’t allowed, he said.
“I dance because it’s just who I am,” he said. “It’s part of me.”
Being at the powwow and out on the floor was one of the greatest feelings, he said.
When he starts dancing he thinks good thoughts and feels good about himself, he said.
Being the head gourd for this year’s Hozhoni Days was amazing, he said. In 1995, his father was given the same position.
Seeing the gathering of different people from different nations was a favorite moment of his, he said.
“Just being truly Indigenous, it was amazing,” he said.
‘It brings me Joy’
Nelson Yazzie, 24, is a grass dancer from New Mexico who is starting something for the future with his leadership role.
Yazzie is a junior at FLC and was headman at the powwow.
He is from Gallup and is Navajo and Lakota. It’s a dance that originated from the plains where dancers would flatten the grass for camp, he said.
He first stepped onto the floor at the age of three or four, being reintroduced during his senior year of high school after stepping back, he said.
Dancing was a way for him to express himself, Yazzie said.
“It brings me joy,” he said.
His late grandmother loved watching him dance, and feels as though part of her is with him while dancing.
Not many in his family dance, so it would be nice for him to start something for future generations, he said.
It was fun for him being the headman and really brought together his friends and family, he said.
He has a nephew who recently started to dance, and likes to mimic Yazzie’s moves while he dances, he said.
Being in this leadership role for the first time was fun, he said.
‘It feels like home’
Anthony Yahola, 26, is the lead singer and composer of the host southern drum group Full Metal Jacket, who shared their songs at the 59th annual Hozhoni Days Powwow.
The group came together around August in 2021 and is composed of around 12 members, Yahola said.
Yahola's favorite part about drumming at a powwow like Hozhoni Days is getting to sing their own music and share it with new people, he said.
“Sharing our music was the best part,” he said.
Yahola is from Oklahoma City, and grew up as a stomp dancer on his Muscogee Creek side, where he was always taken to powwows and loved listening to them.
Being raised by his grandmother, she introduced him to his mother’s Ponca side, where a lot of his drumming comes from, he said.
He is a White Star in a Buffalo Head on his Ponca side, he said. They showed him and taught him, and by the time he was 10 years old. He was already out there going center drum and singing as much as he could, he said.
Drumming in the center of the area feels like home, he said.
‘He’s teaching us’
Kenneth Brown Sr., 51, is a father from Fort Defiance, Arizona and held a blanket special featuring his 12-year-old son.
Brown Sr’s son, Tristan Brown, is severely to moderately deaf and held a blanket special with his dad to help kids with disabilities.
“For too long have these kids with disabilities been put in the back of the bus,” Brown Sr. said. “We need that to stop, we need to start putting these kids in the front.”
Tristan is a chicken dancer and singer, Brown Sr. said. It was Brown Sr. who introduced Tristan to chicken dancing and has been dancing since three years old, he said.
The style of dance comes from the north and was given to the people when food was scarce, he said.
This dance is also seen as a courtship dance, where you must parade yourself and shake everything, he said.
While at powwows Tristan is seen hugging, high fiving or even shaking hands to greet people he knows, Brown Sr. said. He has his own way of speaking and he knows how to get around his disability.
“In a way, he’s teaching,” he said.
During the blanket special, Brown Sr. announced that his family is sponsoring a special need contest strictly for kids with disabilities at the 2025 Gathering of Nations.
The money that was donated on the blanket wasn’t for his family, and instead will go to kids with disabilities, Brown Sr. said.
It brought a good feeling when everybody came together to hear their message about Tristan, and brought that warmth and comfort that people will be there, he said.
