The vibrant colors at the 110th annual Arlee Celebration of the Fourth of July hold meaning to many who wear them. To others, they're reflective of a mood or even just practical. The bold shades on Saturday shone from beads, reflected off scarves and even decorated a top hat.
“You can't hide from the Indians,” said Johnny Arlee, who wore the top hat beaded in a floral design with green and red. Clearly, the Indians at the powwow couldn't hide from anyone, either.
This year the powwow brought back the parade, and Darien Carson, 10, sat atop an SUV ready to roll. She was decked in gold with a yellow arrow embroidered on her chest.
“It's a color that I like, and it's also one of the colors on the medicine wheel,” said Darien, of the Sinixt Tribe of the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington.
Her grandma, Shelly Boyd, said she was taught the color represents the morning rising, coming from the east, and how things begin again.
Dave BrownEagle, of the Spokane Tribe, said some people get their colors through dreams or stories. He wore red, yellow, blue and green beads embroidered into small triangles, an ornament against his buckskin outfit.
The colors have meanings that are personal and private to him. He received his colors from his father and through guiding dreams. People don't receive their dreams at any particular time in their lives, but when the season is right.
“They just come whenever they're supposed to. ... Hopefully I'll still have these kinds of dreams when I'm 90 years old,” BrownEagle said.
Shane Hendrickson and his horse, Manymoons, also dressed for the event. Around his neck, Hendrickson wore a blue and red paisley scarf, which belonged to his dad. He also wore a brass button. The blue represents the skies, and the brass is traditional.
“The old Indians always used to wear brass. They liked it 'cause it was shiny,” said Hendrickson, who is Salish and lives near Arlee.
A red ring circled Manymoons' left eye, and a yellow one wrapped around the right. With ringed eyes, the horse was dressed for war.
“They believed that putting the rings around the horse's eyes would help them to see better,” he said.
Then, there's silver. It shone off baubles in the jewelry stands and also ringed a blanket wrapped around a bleacher seat. The latter isn't so much symbolic as it is the color of a pretty useful mender ubiquitous at the powwow, according to Johnny Arlee.
“Must have duct tape to patch things up,” Arlee said.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
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