A celebration for Native Americans across the country, the Puvunga Pow Wow, is returning to California Sate University Long Beach after a hiatus due to COVID-19. The celebration will hold ceremonies to remember and heal from those lost.
The celebration is back after a three year hiatus due to the pandemic. One of the themes of the gathering is to highlight that health inequalities exist in the American Indian community where the average lifespan is 65 years — compared to the U.S. average of 77.
The celebration is known as the Puvungna Pow Wow, named after the Tongva village that once stood where the CSULB campus stands now.
According to Craig Stone, the director of the American Indian Studies program, they willingly canceled the Pow Wow in 2020 because "when you lose an elder, it's like losing a library." Now that the celebration is returning, their first priority is to heal and the second is be celebrate life.
Organizers expect attendees in the thousand from across the country, many of whom are former students. In the past people have come from as far as Michigan and Canada. In 2019, over 6,000 people attended.
It is a big extended family reunion in many ways.
This Pow Wow features American Indian dancing, arts, crafts and food.
You can also expect:
The CSULB Pow Wow has been held since 1969. The land is considered the birth of the Tongva people. In the 1970s, a Tongva man was excavated on the campus, and shortly afterwards, the American Indian program was established. It is the oldest program of its kind in the Cal State system.
March 11 - 12
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Location: Upper Quad Campus: Cal State Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd. Long Beach
Parking: Free, follow directional signs to park in General Lots. Dancers, Singers, and Head Staff
