Author: Imported Author 1852163

NATCHEZ, Miss. — The 2025 Natchez Powwow will be a weekend of Native American culture brimming with great music, food, and exciting entertainment on the Natchez Bluff, said Natchez Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum.

The event is set for Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, at 319 N. Broadway Street.

“We will have people coming in from all across Mississippi, Oklahoma, and many other states,” Borum said. “Everybody, including local residents and visitors, look forward to this annual tradition where they can have great family entertainment while learning and participating in Native American culture.”

The Natchez Powwow is a celebration of Native American culture. It was started by Borum in 1988. The event is free and open to the public. Food, including Native American arts and crafts, t-shirts, and other items, will be available for purchase throughout the weekend.

The powwow typically includes Native American dance, traditional songs that are hundreds of years old, and the thunderous sound of drums being played by 20 men, said Borum.

The tribal regalia is colorful and eye-catching, and the dancing holds the audience’s attention, Borum said. Even more, he added, the participants often engage the audience by inviting them to join them in some of the dances.

During the 2024 Natchez Powwow, Mayor Dan Gibson presented Borum with a Certificate of Appreciation. Gibson, on behalf of the City of Natchez, said Borum was being honored for his “many years of passionate and unwavering leadership and support for this great event which means so much to our city.”

“We’re so grateful to Dr. Chuck Borum for bringing this event to life now 36 years ago,” Gibson said. “It is such a great event for Natchez, but it’s such a great event for Mississippi and for the whole region and for our whole country.”

Gibson said it is important that the history of the Native Americans – and how they were treated — not be forgotten. “And we must today forever be grateful that we now can come together as one … to celebrate the Natchez Powwow,” he said.

Natchez’s David Kelley and his family are members of the Osage Nation. Kelley said he and his family are looking forward to this year’s powwow. “It seems that everyone is starting to acclimate to the new location on the bluff,” he said. “We have experienced a growing attendance over the last couple years. So, we look to have an awesome powwow weekend full of great singing and dancing.”

Powwow event schedule

This year’s program will feature Frank Carson, Otoe-Pawnee of Stillwater, Oklahoma, as the Master of Ceremonies.

Other participants will include Darsh DeSilva of Round Rock, Texas, as the Arena Director; George Valliere, Shawnee-Quapaw-Cherokee of Claremore, Oklahoma, as Head Singer Southern Drum; Andrew Idalski, Otoe Missouria of Lucas, Texas, as Head Man Dancer; Emily Smith, Ponca, of Ponca City, Oklahoma, as Head Lady Dancer; and Ronald Scheuermann, Gulf Coast Tia Piah of Marrero, Louisiana, as Head Gourd Dancer.

Saturday March 29, 2025

9 a.m. — Food and Craft and Farmer Market Vendors open
1 p.m. — Gourd Dance
2:30 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing
4 p.m. — Camp Feed for Singers and Dancers and family/friends
6 p.m. — Gourd Dance
7 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing
9 p.m. – Closing

Sunday March 30, 2025

9 a.m. — Food and Craft Vendors open
1 p.m. — Gourd Dance
2:30 p.m. — Grand Entry and Intertribal Dancing
Spectators bring your lawn chairs

Borum said alcoholic beverages will not be allowed in the powwow area or in the areas used by the traders and food vendors. Although some people may choose to stand for certain parts of the day’s event, those attending are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs, he said. The dancers may use the benches that surround the powwow area.

According to the Natchez Powwow website, a traditional camp feed will be provided at 5 p.m. Saturday for the participants in the powwow, which include all of the singers, head staff, dancers, friends and family. This meal will be prepared by the Atkins and Tsosie family in memory of Vernon Atkins and other friends and family who have died.

As in previous years, outdoor camping will not be available at the powwow site on the Bluff. However, camping in tents, campers, and RVs will be available at the River View RV Park at 100 River View Parkway, Vidalia.

For more information, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com, or send email to Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum at cborum@hotmail.com.

Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez, is the new president of the Mississippi Historical Society. He was elected Thursday, March 6, during the society’s annual meeting in Jackson. He will lead the organization for the next year through March 5, 2026, when the meeting is held in Meridian.

“I am grateful to the Mississippi Historical Society for having faith in me and for giving me the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” said Barnes. “I am excited about my new role, and I look forward to working with our members and partners to create exciting programs and other endeavors over the  next year.”

As the new president, Barnes fills the position previously held by Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, associate professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi. He will serve alongside Keena Graham, the society’s new vice president. Graham is the superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Jackson.

“The Mississippi Historical Society has benefited from the leadership of Roscoe Barnes in recent years and is proud that he will be the organization’s president for 2025-26,” said secretary-treasurer Brother Rogers.

The Mississippi Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that works with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to promote understanding of the state’s history. Barnes joined the society’s board of directors in 2022. In 2023, he was named chairman of the Awards Committee. He became vice president in 2024.

In January, Barnes completed his term as a trustee of the Natchez Historical Society. In 2023, the Mississippi Humanities Council selected him for its 2023 Humanities Partner Award.

In addition to his work at Visit Natchez, Barnes is an award-winning newspaper journalist and independent scholar whose research focuses on Anne Moody, the Civil Rights Movement, F.F. Bosworth, Ernest Hemingway, and the history of Natchez. He is founding chairman of the Anne Moody History Project, a public history endeavor created to promote the legacy of Anne Moody and her book, “Coming of Age in Mississippi.”

Barnes holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Church History and Church Polity from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and a Master of Arts in Religion from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg.

A prolific writer, Barnes is the author of multiple books, including “F.F. Bosworth: The Man Behind ‘Christ the Healer’” (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009); and “Off to War: Franklin Countians in World War II” (White Mane Publishing, 1996). His work is widely published in newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, and academic journals.