Arvel Bird at the Shinnecock Pow Wow

Georgianne, Annalee, and I headed out east this morning to check out the 64th Annual Shinnecock Indian Pow Wow.  When the kids were younger we used to go every year, but with all the Homegrown String Band touring it's been several years since we last attended. We strolled around the grounds admiring the crafts and grabbed a bite to eat. There were some very interesting foods available; like buffalo, venison, and wild quail. We settled on Indian frybread tacos mostly because the line was short, but they were quite tasty. The traditional Aztec dancers and competitive fancy dancers are always fun to watch, but for me the highlight of the day was a performance by fiddler/flutist Arvel Bird. Arvel, of mixed Native American and Scottish descent, successfully blends his cultural heritage in his music. He seems equally at home playing a Celtic or traditional American fiddle tune as he is playing Native American flute music. Bird has released numerous genre bending recordings and won several Native American Music Awards. He's been performing everyday of the Pow Wow; if you haven't caught one of his sets you have one more chance, his last set will be at 10:45 Monday morning.

Photo by Rick Jackofsky