Grand entry rises as the circle returns to Western Navajo Fair
TUBA CITY
When the drums start, the arena fills with bright regalia and voices.
For LaDawna and Karlis Beard, that opening song is more than ceremony. It is the heartbeat of the Western Navajo Fair, a signal that the people have returned home and the drums are ready to heal.
Karlis, who is Bamboo Clan and born for Naakaii Dine’é, calls it the start of the powwow, almost like welcoming every dancer into the arena. “It’s almost like a moment of silence, but the singers are singing,” he said. “And then once they finish that first verse, then everybody starts to dance.”
The couple has coordinated the fair’s powwow for years, working long hours before the event to create a space where every sound and color connects people back to one another.
“I’ve been the Western Navajo Fair powwow coordinator for many years,” said LaDawna, who is Kiyaa’áanii and San Carlos Apache. “I started as a coordinator back in 2002 and have coordinated many powwows as well. I’m born and raised from Tuba.”
To read the full article, please see the Oct. 16, 2025, edition of the Navajo Times.
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