Warren Pratt on Saturday celebrated his future by honoring his past.

Friday morning, Pratt graduated with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Haskell Indian Nations University. Saturday, he dressed in a colorful Pawnee Indian outfit and danced in the Haskell Powwow inside the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds arena.

“This is a way to step out from our education and our jobs and look back at where we came from,” said Pratt, who also is a pastor at Indian Avenue Baptist Church.

Pratt was one of 200 men, women and children from across the nation who are dancing in this weekend’s annual powwow.

“They are here to celebrate with us the graduation and participate in their culture,” said Shelley Bointy, a counselor at Haskell who serves on the committee that organizes the annual powwow. “A lot of us have families scattered about the country, and many of them come back, too.”

Hundreds of people gathered in the arena to watch the dance contests and look over and buy items from the 33 booths selling arts, crafts, blankets and jewelry. A dozen food vendors set up shop at the event.

Included in the festivities were more solemn moments for dancing in honor of A.J. White Bull, a Haskell student from the Dakota Nation who died in an August 1999 car crash. White Bull’s family stood as a group and watched the dances and congratulated the dancers afterward.

Most dancers began learning their art as a child. Now 38 years old, Pratt said he was 8 when he started dancing.

Daniel Harris, Kansas City, Kan., holds his sleeping nephew, Mesca LittleEagle, 2, during the grand entry invocation at the Haskell Indian Nations University Commencement Powwow at the Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds. Saturday's powwow included a variety of dance competitions and exhibitions. The event continues today.

It can be a difficult process, he said.

“It’s not so hard to learn the steps,” Pratt, a member of the Pawnee tribe, said. “What’s hard is learning the protocol that goes with it.”

Don Rice, 70, Topeka, a 1951 Haskell graduate, said he tried to come back to the powwow often. He also travels around the country to similar events.

“It’s fun, and there are usually a lot of alumni here,” Rice said, though he noted he was never much of a dancer.

“My footwork is not very good,” he said.

The powwow continues at 1 p.m. today at the fairgrounds.

¢ More graduation stories¢ More Haskell stories