School powwows are common in areas with large Native American populations, but Saturday’s powwow at Hillcrest Elementary was a first for Lawrence schools.
The Hillcrest Intertribal Club Powwow was organized by second grade teacher Shelby Tosee, who is Makah from Neah Bay, Washington. Hundreds of people were in attendance.
One of the many highlights of the powwow was the potato dance, in which two people hold a potato between their foreheads while performing moves as directed by the announcer, such as spinning in a circle or holding their arms out like airplane wings. The duo that manages to keep their potato from falling to the ground the longest wins.
The Native American Student Services student ambassadors for the 2025-26 school year were also announced.
NaFehna Farve, Mississippi Choctaw and Cupi’q Eskimo, is the new Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence. Farve served as Jr. Miss Indian Youth last year.
Riley Alva, Oglala Lakota, Creek, and Seminole of Oklahoma, is Jr. Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence.
Throughout their yearlong reign, Farve and Alva will participate in various educational, cultural and social events while also building their confidence, resilience, perseverance, networking, communication and leadership skills.
Four other Lawrence schools also now have intertribal clubs: Cordley Elementary, Billy Mills Middle School and Lawrence and Free State high schools. NASS now serves almost 400 students.
If our local journalism matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at molly@lawrencekstimes.com. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Latest Lawrence news:
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
City of Lawrence cites potential loss of $8M in federal funds as reason for resolution that sparked uproar
The City of Lawrence is “exploring the risks associated with potentially losing $8M in funding,” according to a statement regarding a draft resolution that pledged the city would stop enforcing its equal rights ordinances in order to comply with Trump’s executive orders.
