Spirit People Dance To Tribal Beat

By: Julia Ferrante, The Tampa Tribune

ODESSA - In the wild, the great horned owl and red-tailed hawk are known to compete for prey, most of the time keeping their distance from one another.

In a display at a powwow this weekend at the Starkey Ranch, the owl and the hawk shared a perch and a water dish, hardly seeming to notice they were supposed to be, more or less, enemies.

'They called a truce,' Deborah Larsen of the Sebring-based Wrede's Wildlife Rehabilitation Center said of the owl, snatched from its nest as a baby, and the hawk, unable to hunt because of an injury.

'I wish the world would take a lesson from nature.'

Larsen's group was among a couple of dozen vendors at the Spirit People Intertribal Family's September powwow, billed as a teaching and learning event. The nonprofit organization of about 45 people celebrates with music, dance, food, storytelling and educational displays three times a year, with proceeds going to the ranch owners, who allow the group to use their property for monthly meetings and other events.

Members of the Spirit People come from many different tribes, although American Indian heritage is not a requirement. Those who join simply must 'come in a good way' and promise not to indulge in drugs or alcohol, Chief Rob 'Buffalo Eagle' Lambert said. The Spirit People, part of the education program at the Starkey Ranch, also visit schools and hospitals. Although members celebrate their ancestry, they do not exclude others who want to participate in their traditions.

'It is a community event,' Lambert said. 'The dances are intertribal. We want people to feel free to come and dance and follow along even if they don't know the dances. To be a good student, you have to participate.'

Vendors at this weekend's powwow, which Lambert said drew a few thousand people between Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, sold dream catchers, walking sticks, buffalo burgers and kettle corn and gave demonstrations on woodcarving and arrow-making.

Falon Kitsmiller of Odessa, her 3-year-old daughter Gabby and other family members came to the powwow Sunday to learn more about American Indian culture.

'Her dad has some Indian in his family,' Kitsmiller said of her daughter.

Paula Hayducky was searching for pottery, dolls and other decorations for her home in Hudson.
'I usually check out some of the powwows,' she said. 'This one is smaller than we've been to, but it's nice.'