37th Annual Red Mountain Eagle Pow Wow Shines at Salt River Baseball Field

November 21, 2025

Jeston Morris

Communituy Newspeerson

SALT RIVER — On November 1-2, Salt River Baseball Field hosted the 37th Annual Red Mountain Eagle Pow Wow, which drew a sizable crowd. Perhaps the biggest pow wow in Phoenix's urban metro area, and it continues to expand with a substantial prize fund of $35,000. Participating Indigenous dancers originated from various regions of Canada and Turtle Island.   

Northern Cree and Southern Style serve the host drums. The special contest includes men’s fancy, women’s fancy shawl, team dancing, and hand drum. The pow wow featured several hundred dancers. Ruben Little Head and Bart Powakee emceed the event while Wayne Silas Jr. directed the arena.

Gourd dances were held at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., Pow Wow grand entry took place between 1 and 7 p.m. Age categories encompass golden age, senior adults, junior adults, teens, juniors, and tiny tots. The night contest was done with stage spotlights. The head judge was Jeremy “Worm” Dearly. 

Hundreds of vendors lined the baseball field, including nearly two dozen food stands on the south side. Among them were Pima Frybread, Redhouse Pastry, That One Stand and C&H Food Stand.

Northern Cree kicked off the grand entry at 1 p.m., which lasted 45 minutes. Several hundred registered dancers joined the ceremonial procession. Southern Style and other drum groups contributed to the singing.

Northern Cree, from Treaty 6 Territory in Saddle Lake, Alberta, Canada, has served as host drum at Red Mountain on several occasions. Founded in 1982 by Steve Wood, the group has earned Grammy and Native American Music Award nominations. They are well known for their round dance song “Facebook Drama.” “Red Mountain was a small pow wow when it started, but it has grown exponentially over the years. Pow wow is a good thing. It brings people together from all over Turtle Island. It has a lot of positive energy and healing,” Wood said. “When we first debuted ‘Facebook Drama,’ everyone embraced it. The lyrics have a lot of truth. Social media can bring drama among First Nation peoples. The easiest thing to do to get away from the drama is to delete. ‘Facebook Drama’ resonates with many people,” he said.

After daytime competitions, the eagle staff and colors were retired until the next grand entry. During breaks, attendees shopped and mingled. The food area was crowded, with Ach’íí’ a popular delicacy sold by three vendors.

Emcee Ruben Little Head became available for an interview during break. “I am one of the emcees for the Red Mountain Pow Wow. Pow wow gives the Native youth a sense of identity, purpose, and belonging. Pow wow has expanding concentric circles. The center of the arena is the main circle. During the pow wow break, there was O’otham singing and dancing and Kiowa gourd dancing. Harlan Barehand, a gourd dancer from Co-op Village in Districts 6 and 7, sang with the O’otham singers. “I am here for the gourd dance. I have been gourd dancing for nearly 40 years. The west end of Gila River has always been involved with traditional O’otham singing and dancing. I got involved with gourd dancing at the PIMC hospital. Sammy ‘Tonekei’ White invited me to dance. I reflected on my own O’otham tradition and said, ‘Why not?’