For first-time visitors, the vibrant colors, intricate beadwork, and rhythmic drumbeats of a powwow are unforgettable. But to those stepping into the arena, every feather, stitch, and step carries a story.
Each Labor Day weekend, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony welcomes the public to Numaga Indian Days, a free celebration honoring Indigenous culture through powwow dancing, drumming, hand games, and community. Named after Chief Numaga, a Northern Paiute leader remembered for his courage and commitment to peace, the annual gathering celebrates traditions that continue to be passed from one generation to the next.
For Skush Poodry, those traditions began at home.
A member of the Sac & Fox Nation who was born in Nevada and raised on the Washoe Reservation in Carson City, Poodry grew up traveling to powwows throughout Nevada, California, and Oklahoma with his family. Today, he dances Men's Northern Traditional, one of the oldest powwow dance styles, rooted in the warrior societies of the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people.
His regalia reflects both heritage and personal history. Poodry hand-beaded every piece himself, while his mother assembled them into finished garments. Some eagle feathers were gifted from his grandfather, while others were earned through dancing or gifted by friends and family along the powwow trail.
And that personal connection, he shares, is why dancers rarely refer to regalia as costumes.
"A costume is an outfit you put on to pretend to be something that you are not," Poodry says. "You cannot go and buy all traditional regalia or eagle feathers."
Beyond preserving tradition, powwows continue to build community.
"Dancing at powwows has led me to a great way of life," Poodry says. "It has given me the opportunity to mentor other dancers, made new friends and family, kept me clean and sober, and created a better way of living for myself."
His hope for first-time visitors is simple: come with an open mind.
"Powwows are healing not only for our Native people but for all people," he says. "We welcome everyone to dance with us during the appropriate times."