Honor the Drum Round Dance set for Saturday

Before organizers of the Honor the Drum Round Dance had announced an official "when" and "where" this year's event would take place, the community took the initiative and set the date.

"People were already talking about it before we made any kind of plans," said organizer J.R. Keeswood, a member of four singing groups - Southern Outlawz, Mile Post 30, Suneagle and 191 N. "It's been in the works for a while now but somehow, by word of mouth, people started announcing that it was for Jan. 16."

With word spreading that the dance would take place this Saturday; the only question left was the location. Fortunately, finding a venue didn't prove to be a challenge.

This year's Honor the Drum Round Dance will take place at the Shiprock Boys & Girls Club, starting at 5 p.m. Saturday and continuing until 4 a.m. Sunday morning. Admission is $1, and proceeds will go to defray the travel expenses of lead singers who come in for the event.

The annual event is organized by members of the 191 N. singing group and their families, along with the Navajo Department of Behavioral Health Services.

"It was actually their idea to have the event for the community," Keeswood said of DBHS's involvement. Agency officials approached Keeswood and his family, along with other members 191 N., about three years ago, he said. The behavioral health officials were looking to start an event that would benefit the community by celebrating wellness and good relations through song and dance.

Keeswood's family had the right experience - the family had sponsored a successful yearly round dance in the Hogback, N.M., area after obtaining permission from the appropriate authorities among Native people in the northern Plains, where the round dance originated, to bring the dance to the Southwest.

The round dance is a daughter to the powwow, a social celebration held during the winter solstice to sustain the people until warm weather brings a new cycle of powwow gatherings.

The round dance began as a memorial ceremony to honor those who had passed on, as well as to heal people and their communities. Over the years it has evolved into a social gathering to renew neighbor and communal relations, and has spread throughout Indian Country.

On the Navajo Reservation, grassroots leaders such as the Keeswoods in Northern Navajo and Jay Begaye of Cathedral Lake Singers, currently based in Fort Defiance, host annual events. Others have held round dances in Dennehotso and Tsaile, Ariz.

"This is just a way to help the community out and bring everyone together," Keeswood said. "It's like the powwows and Native American Church, they are not Navajo ceremonies but we adopted them and we take care of them. Round dances is something we have now adopted. It's slowly growing.

"(The round dance) was already down here before but the only time I would see it was when singers contested at powwows," he said. "There was really no place for the singer to go."

One exciting part of round dances held in Dinétah is the number of local singers composing songs to get the dancers' feet moving. The singing group 191 N. is a "supergroup," comprised of members from such respected drum groups as Thunderhouse of Lukachukai Chapter, Suneagle of Shiprock, Mile Post 30 and Southern Outlawz of Tsé Daa K'aan Chapter, R-Krew of Farmington, Stone Creek of Red Mesa Chapter, and Cree Society of Piapot, Saskatchewan.

The singers of 191 N. plan to record their performance at Saturday's round dance for a live CD. The event is opened to all singers, although only members of 191 N. will be recorded for the CD.

It will be the third round dance CD from 191 N. The group previously released "5 Bucks Gas" (Cool Runnings Music) and  "Rez Story" (J&C Music).

The head staff for this year's Honor the Drum Round Dance includes Jacob Black Eagle of Towaoc, Colo., as the whip man, with Clint Frank of Saskatchewan and Delvin Keeswood of Shiprock sharing the microphone as master of ceremonies.

Organizers will distribute midnight lunch and people are welcome to donate items like baked goods and various items for raffles and cakewalks, which will be held throughout the night. Donations of drinking water for the singers are also welcome.

For information: Contact J.R. Keeswood at 505-368-5965.

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