Native American Events in Maryland
One can find plenty of websites which maintain a calendar of pow wows. The difficulty is that the job can be so overwhelming, since there is no central database, they must rely on organizers and participants to submit updated information. As a result, most listings are incomplete or outdated. By limiting this page to Maryland and Washington, DC, I hope to stay as current as possible by using a 12-month rolling calendar. In addition to pow wows and festivals, this page may also include public meetings and events of native American interest.
To facilitate accuracy, I use a link to the organizer’s website whenever possible, rather than reproducing all of the information here. I personally verify all dates with the event organizers at the time of posting. If you see other websites with these same descriptions, they probably copied them from here. I find it amusing, yet disturbing, when a website copies text from another website, and then puts a copyright notice on their own page. I only ask that they credit BrokenClaw.net.
Dates marked with an *asterisk on this calendar are tentative and will be verified at a later date. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t seem to update their websites until immediately before an event. See more links to Native American organizations in Maryland.
2008 Calendar |
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|---|---|
| All Year | I encourage everyone to visit the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, which has special events throughout the year. |
| May-Oct | Eastern Woodland Indian Village Days. Jefferson Patterson Park, St.Leonard, Calvert County. A glimpse of everyday life as it was around the Chesapeake Bay over 500 years ago, with demonstrations and hands-on opportunities. Various weekends throughout the year. Check their Calendar. |
| Oct 18-19 | Accohannock 15th Annual Healing of All Nations Pauwau. Bending Water Park, Marion, Somerset County. Heritage festival with traditional dancing, drums, food, crafts, and demonstrations. More info. |
| Oct 18-19* | Lenapehauken 6th Annual Pow Wow. Mardela Springs, Wicomico County. Sponsored by the Lenapehauken Education and Research Center. No updated information on their website. |
| Nov 1-30 | National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month, sponsored by the Indian Health Service. Various celebrations, displays, and demonstrations throughout the month in and around Washington, DC. Other activities may be sponsored by the University of Maryland Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education. |
2009 Calendar |
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| Jan 10* | Morning Star Celebration. John Carroll School, Bel Air, Harford County. Eighth Annual Benefit Dance for St.Labre Indian School in Ashland, Montana. American Indian culture will be celebrated throughout the day with music, dance, food, and crafts. Contact: Gary Scholl by email or by phone at 410-838-8333 ext 2002. More info. |
| Jan 19-21 | 2009 Inaugural Pow wow and Ball hosted by the American Indian Society of Washington, DC. More info. |
| Jul 11-12* | Howard County 16th Annual Pow Wow and Show. Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD. Featuring traditional drumming and dancing, with demonstrations and children’s activities. Call 252-257-5383 for more info. |
| May 9-10 | Mother’s Day Pow wow sponsored by the American Indian Society of Washington, DC, in Ruther Glen, VA. Native American dancing, drumming and singing honoring mothers and grandmothers. More info. |
| Jul 16-19 | Otoe-Missouria 128th Encampment, Red Rock, Noble County, Oklahoma. Yes, I know this is nowhere near Maryland, but it is my pow wow, so I’m listing it here. |
| Aug 8-9 | American Indian Inter-Tribal Cultural Organization 24th Annual Pow Wow at Calvert County Fairgrounds in Prince Frederick. More info. |
| Aug 21-23* | Baltimore Powwow. Patterson Park in Baltimore City. 35th Annual intertribal gathering of Native American dancers, drummers, artists, and craftspersons, sponsored by the Baltimore American Indian Center. Competition exhibition with cash prizes. More info. |
| Sept 5* | Eastern Woodland Indian Village Day. Historic St.Mary’s City, St.Mary’s County. Discover the world of Maryland’s first citizens as you try skills and experience arts. More info. |
| Sept 5-6* | Nanticoke Indian Powwow in Millsboro, Delaware. Traditional intertribal pow wow with representatives from more then forty tribes expected. Plenty of vendors, demonstrations, and children’s activities. Sunday morning worship service. More info. |
| Sept 12-13* | Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians 16th Annual Native American Festival, to be held at the Vienna Ballpark in Dorchester County. Traditional dancers, singers, and drumming, with crafts and artist demonstrations, vendors, and food. More info. |
| Oct 3-4* | Boonsboro Pow Wow 16th Annual Native American Festival, to be held at the Washington County Agricultural Center in Boonsboro, MD. Featuring traditional drumming and dancing, with demonstrations and children’s activities. Call 252-257-5383 for more info. |
More information on the Web
- Pow Wow Etiquette for newcomers — an article I wrote for this web site.
- American Indian Society of Washington, DC — directory of local events throughout the year, mostly in Virginia.
- Pow Wow Directory, a list of web sites for pow wows throughout the US.
- Maryland State Office of Tourism Development. Complete listing of a wide variety of cultural, artistic, and recreational events in Maryland.
To submit new or updated information for this page, please use the Comment form below.
Disclaimer
BrokenClaw.net provides this page as a public service. I verify all information on this page with event organizers at the time of posting. However, I am not responsible for changes or cancellations. Dates marked with an *asterisk are tentative and will be verified at a later date. Visitors are encouraged to check the contact info immediately prior to an event. The sources for this page include the Maryland State Office of Tourism Development, supplemented by web searches, email, phone calls, and even snail mail. All of these events are open to the public. Expect to pay a nominal admission fee to cover the cost of the site and facilities.
2 Comments »
Richard Karel said :
April 18, 2008 at 8:27 pm
I’m a herbal medicine student in the M.Sc. program at Tai Sophia Institute. I’m doing a little volunteer work with Baltimore Bioneers and we are looking for an articulate, well-focused Maryland Native American to speak at the conference (in October) regarding Native American worldview, the environment, sustainability, and possibly herbal and shamanic medicine.
If anyone knows of someone who might be interested please let me know.
Thanks,
Richard
donna wilson-stup said :
July 2, 2008 at 11:51 am
I enjoy going to Pow Wows every year. My Father was part Cherokee.
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