Heartbeat of ‘Great Mohican Pow-Wow’ returns with hoop dancing, traditional acts

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — The heartbeat of the Great Mohican Pow-Wow roared to life again on Friday after a year of silence.

The 36th annual, three-day event held at the confluence of Ashland, Holmes and Knox counties kicked off Friday morning with traditional music of the Andes Mountains by Malkuri, a hallmark act of the event. 

Robbie Swift, the event’s organizer, planned activities for every half-hour — each led by Native American or First Nation people, who are indigenous to Canada. Activities included story telling, tomahawk throwing, a flute act and fire starting demos.

“I haven’t seen anyone in over a year, except family,” Swift said. “But when you hear that drum, and you see everyone dancing, you get emotional. That’s why we refer to the big drum — it’s literally our heartbeat.”

The Great Mohican Pow-Wow is traditionally held in July, but COVID-19 changed things, Swift said. Moving forward, it will only be held in September. 

One of the acts this year included the Sinquah family, who traveled from Arizona to showcase spiritual hoop dancing. 

Moontee Sinquah, 56, danced on Friday, under the hot noon sun in front of a modest crowd. Sinquah is a member of the Hopi tribe in northeastern Arizona. Sinquah and his two sons are hoop dancing champions, with Sinquah earning three world championahip titles.

Native American tribes employed hoop dances as a healing ceremony. Today, hoop dance is shared as an artistic expression to honor and celebrate indigenous traditions throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The Heard Museum in Phoenix hosts the World Champion Hoop Dance Contest each year.

“I love dancing, I grew up dancing,” Sinquah said. “Something about the drum, it draws you — it makes you want to dance.”

Sinquah’s hoop dance on Friday stemmed from one created for a boy in New Mexico who was ill at the time. Each time the dancer’s body moved through the hoop represented one more day of life for the boy.

Sinquah, donned in colorful fabrics, danced to the beat of a drum played by his two sons and another man who belongs to the Lakota tribe. During the dance, crowd members left dollar bills at his feet, which were later split by the team.

After his dance, he invited people from the crowd to dance with him — around 10 did so. 

Friday’s performance was the first Sinquah had done with his two sons since the pandemic canceled all events. He performed at a festival in Long Island, New York and at another in California before coming to Ohio. 

Sinquah said the pandemic wreaked havoc on him and others he knows. 

“I’ve lost a lot of relatives, a lot of friends within the pow wow and dance arena,” he said.

The reservations where he and others live are also much more secluded because of pandemic-related shutdowns. 

But he also said the pandemic forced him and his family to slow down a bit. He is now a grandfather, which has been great, he said.

The Great Mohican Pow-Wow, located at 23270 Wally Road takes place daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Saturday when festivities wrap at 7 p.m. It lasts through Sept. 19.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate or online. Adult passes start at $8. Children age 6 to 12 are $4.

Parking is free and the festival includes options for food and several vendors stocked with souvenirs.