Singers carry on powwow tradition

The Roanhorse Singers and its progenitor group, the Cozad Singers, have a history that not too many people outside the family know about. Both groups originated from the late Louis Spotted Horse, Kiowa.

"That was my dad's grandpa," said Leonard Cozad Jr., whose Roanhorse Singers are the host southern drum at this weekend's Honoring Our President Joe Shirley Jr. Contest Powwow taking place Friday and Saturday at the Wildcat Den in Chinle.

Louis Spotted Horse was his great-grandfather's real name but within the BIA, where he worked, he was known as Charley Roanhorse.

"It's confusing, I know," said Cozad, 72. "I guess you could say that Charley Roanhorse was his office name and Louis Spotted Horse was his tribal name."

Cozad's father, the late Leonard Sr., formed the Cozad Singers in the late 1930s. The name was borrowed from Beelow Cozad, a relative who had attended Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania in the 1880s.

The family then decided to adopt Cozad for its family name as well. In time, the drum group grew from members of Leonard Sr.'s immediate family to extended family and close friends.

Over the decades, the Cozad Singers became known throughout Indian Country, traveling to powwows in the U.S. and Canada, winning numerous championships and drum contests, and recording many albums of their music on CD and cassette.

With the Cozad name firmly established in powwow story logs, Leonard Jr. then got permission from his father to use the Roanhorse name for a new group, which is made up mainly of the younger generation of the family.

Both groups are based in Anadarko, Okla.

The Cozads are dedicated to carrying on the Kiowa tradition. They compose their own music, creating songs for powwows and gourd dances alike.

Song making is a gift that humbles the giver, Cozad explained. When called upon to compose a song, there is the obligation to do so for the individuals requesting it.

"People are always coming up to me and telling me to make a song for them," he said. "I can make a song, compose a song, but what I can't do is charge. I can't charge because it would hurt me. The price of the song depends on the people I make it for and how they feel about it."

Some requesters have given him thousands of dollars for a song, while others give just a little, he said. Either way, the reflection is on the person making the request.

Cozad noted that through his travels with the Cozad Singers, he made friends on the Navajo Reservation.

"It's an honor to be asked to host this powwow to honor a distinguished individual like your former President Joe Shirley," he said. "And to meet up with friends and relatives."

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