Powwow ready to roll in Kalispell

A powwow honoring missing and murdered indigenous women that is scheduled to hit the Flathead County Fairgrounds beginning Thursday is “a go,” according to organizers of the event.

The Daily Inter Lake has received dozens of calls in recent weeks from people who wondered if the event will be staged, with most citing an unusual lack of advertising and marketing.

However, according to the main organizer Bruce Grant, he and his planning partners have jumped through all the hoops necessary to green-light the celebration, including providing required documentation to the Flathead County Fairgrounds, recruiting contestants for the events, and other requirements.

“It’s been a little bit of a waiting game getting some last-minute things together, but everything is on,” Grant said. “Our phones are blowing up.”

Mark Campbell, manager of the Flathead County Fairgrounds, said organizers put down a deposit for the fairgrounds weeks ago, which amounts to 25 percent of the rental amount for the weekend and Grant has voiced every intention of successfully pulling off the four-day powwow.

During a recent interview, Campbell said the only thing the fairgrounds still needed was the insurance for spectators and for the county fairgrounds itself.

Grant said Monday afternoon he had secured the insurance through a company based in his home town of Havre — the last mandatory requirement needed to launch the event. He said the delay was due to a lack of understanding from insurance companies on what exactly the insurance would be covering.

According to Campbell, the required general liability insurance is “common practice” when people are looking to rent a space like the fairgrounds and without it, “nobody would be able to take up occupancy of the facility.” Campbell said during a phone call on Tuesday that the insurance was valid and the company would be sending confirmation to fairgrounds officials that afternoon.

With the necessary insurance in place, Grant and his crew will spend Wednesday preparing the grounds for opening night.

Coined the World Championship Healing Powwow, the first annual event is expected to feature drum contests, traditional hand game tournaments, bull riding, multiple dances and much more over the course of the weekend. The event will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday with the grand entry, followed by junior bull riding and other contests, according to event organizers. A flyer shows there will be $260,000 in total payouts for activities.

Despite limited marketing and advertising, Grant and his partners say they anticipate the event will still happen to the scale they have envisioned.

The Daily Inter Lake reported on the powwow in late March, outlining various ambitions for the celebration and Grant’s role as the Herd Bull during the grand entry celebration. In an interview for that article, coordinators said they hoped somewhere around 50,000 native and non-native people would attend over the course of the four days. According to event coordinators, entry tickets are $20 per day and children five and under are free.

Campbell said he anticipated the powwow will be a “very positive experience.”

Event coordinators said there is no website or social media page listing which activities and events will happen on which days. For more information on the event and for updates on what activities will unfold over the weekend, the public has been asked to contact Bruce Grant and his team at 406-399-7826.