The Saturday powwow will include a rare performance of the Apache fire dance.
Chances are you haven't seen a fire dance. It's rarely performed outside the Apache communities in Arizona and New Mexico.
Haskell Indian Nations University officials have tried several times to include a fire dance -- also called a crown dance -- in their powwows.
So far, they haven't had much luck.
"Every year we struggle," said Manny King, Haskell registrar and emcee of the university's "Welcome To School Powwow" on Saturday. "Sometimes we don't have enough (Apache) students, and sometimes there's resistance to doing it because of its ceremonial purpose."
But this year, King said, a group of Apache students has agreed to perform a version of the fire dance.
"This is something you don't get to see very often," King said. "It's a very difficult dance to perform, and it's very ritualistic. It lasts 20 to 30 minutes."
The dancers' regalia includes carved crowns.
"A crown dance is to ward off spirits," said Cornel Pewewardy, one of the powwow's organizers. "So the dancers dress in a sort of haunting regalia with antler-looking headdresses.
"Four or five of the dancers are very serious and very traditional. But one of the dancers is a trickster who's meant to bring life to the ceremony, to make you smile, to bring humor to the situation.
"It's really something to see."
The fire- or crown-dance portion of the powwow is expected to start sometime around 6:30 p.m.
The powwow, which opens with a gourd dance at 1 p.m., is free and open to the public. Activities will break for dinner from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Several student organizations will be operating food booths.
"There will be plenty to eat," Pewewardy said. Other booths will feature American Indian arts and crafts.
Bring your own seating.
During the powwow, contestants for the 1999-2000 Miss Haskell pageant will be announced.
-- Dave Ranney's phone message number is 832-7222. His e-mail is dranney@ljworld.com.
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