Great Promise for American Indians will celebrate Native American culture at Expo Center on Saturday

The sound of drums and jingling regalia will fill the Travis County Exposition Center from sunup to sundown Saturday for the Austin Powwow, a celebration of Native American culture and history.

Austin nonprofit Great Promise for American Indians hosts the annual event, which has a more than 25-year history and brings in thousands of attendees. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and welcomes both Native and non-Native people.

“We encourage everyone in the public to come because we want to share our heritage and our culture with everyone in hopes that it brings awareness about our background and culture to people, because there’s a lot of misconceptions about our heritage,” said Melanie Sais, an Austin Powwow committee member and Great Promise board member.

The powwow will feature vendors, food and a variety of dances. The grand entry at noon, which serves as the official powwow kickoff, will have dancers from all categories enter the arena to perform together.

There’s also the gourd dance at 10:30 a.m. and dance competitions for men, women and children throughout the day for categories such as men’s grass, women’s northern traditional and women’s jingle dances.

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“I think most people come because they want to see the dancers,” Sais said. “Then there’s a lot of people that will stay all day because usually our last dance of the day is the men’s fancy dance and … they’re just very acrobatic. It’s fast-paced. Their regalia is beautiful.”

Though the powwow takes place during National Native American Heritage Month, Great Promise hosts events throughout the year, from dance performances and storytelling to arts and crafts. Organizers say Great Promise is committed to growing and sharing its Native community and culture.

“As Austin’s growing or Central Texas is growing, we keep finding more and more Native Americans,” Sais said. “It’s awesome to just bring more people into the community that are willing to help and share our culture with other people, too. So, it’s nice; it’s kind of like welcoming a new family member.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Native American Heritage Month: Celebration at Travis Co. Expo Center