By Linda Kor Most days during the warm summer evenings in Holbrook, the rhythmic sound of drums can be heard wafting through the town accompanied by the hauntingly beautiful echoes of Native American song carried on the breeze. Arrive at the source in the center of the historic town and it’s a colorful display of dancing children and adults in cultural regalia dancing to the beat and entertaining visitors. This is an important part of Holbrook’s identity, some of the dancers live locally but many come as far away as Winslow, Taylor, Flagstaff and even Ramah, New Mexico, to share their heritage with those that come to watch. Tyreta Brown has volunteered for many years to make sure that this is something that continues each summer. She, along with Newman Paddock who emcees the dances and Angela Tracas, each have family taking part in the dances introducing their culture to others and by doing so ensure that such knowledge is carried from one generation to the next. The number of dancers vary from 10 to 20 each night depending upon who is available and the age range is broad, with the youngest who just turned one this week to dancers in their 50’s. As far as the tribes represented in the dancers, Brown said they are primarily Navajo. She explained that the dances are considered a social pow wow rather than a competitive pow wow where dancers compete for money. “There’s going to be different dances like the jingle dress, fancy shawl and the men’s grass dance. They’re just types of dances you would normally see at pow wow rather than being inclusive of say one tribe where, for example, the Navajo tribe would have their own type of dance and it tells a story. Pow wow is more inclusive to all the different tribes,” explained Brown. The dances also feature talented hoop dancer, Delano Paddock, who has seven hoops that he dances with and although still young, has competed for many years with his skill. Since the dancers come from many places, up to 15 dancers are paid a stipend through the Holbrook Chamber of Commerce but when there are more than that they are paid through fundraisers. “Our group does fundraising throughout the summer that includes Navajo taco sales and a concession stand at the dances; tips are also welcome.” The money raised from that pays for the drum group New Boyz, which travels from Teesto once a week to perform. “We pay them to help with the travel expenses, it’s a bit of a drive,” said Brown. She said that for the Navajo taco sale they count on volunteers that come from California to help at Naomi House in Jack Rabbit, and they along with residents at Naomi House come and help cook the tacos. “They bring about 50 people. We definitely couldn’t do it ourselves,” said Brown. Aside from paying the extra dancers and the drum group, the funds raised also supports a princess pageant every year. This year the pageant will be held from July 19-22 with the crowning on the 22nd. The crowned princess goes to pow wows throughout the year representing Holbrook. Criteria for selection includes an interview and then the contestant must display their dancing ability. “They’re judged on their poise, are they dancing on the beat, are they stopping on the beat, things like that,” explained Brown. The age range to compete is from seven and older. Brown says the funds raised also go towards purchasing backpacks containing school supplies for school age kids at the beginning of the school year and for the younger ones a toy. “We just try to help them as much as we can; to give back to the kids,” said Brown. The dances are held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and every other Friday from now until July 22 at Gillespie Park on the corner of Hopi Drive and Navajo Blvd. These events are free to the public.
