Summer Travel, Gathering of Nations Videos & Your Pow Wow Calendar
Published 10 days agoΒ β’Β 12 min read
Reader We're halfway through May already, how did that happen?
This time of year, I know a lot of you are deep in summer trip planning mode, and I'd love to hear what you've got lined up. Where are you headed?
And have your plans changed at all lately?
I've asked this before, but it keeps feeling more relevant every week. Between the hantavirus news that's been making headlines, gas prices doing what they do, and unrest popping up in different parts of the world, it's hard not to stop and rethink things.
Travel is still happening and life goes on, but it's one of those seasons where staying informed just feels important.
On our end, we're planning a trip to Europe at the end of June. Really looking forward to it, and also keeping a close eye on everything between now and then. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.
Hit reply and let me know where you're planning to go this summer.
Now Reader, there is a LOT in this week's newsletter, so make sure you scroll all the way down. We've got a hand drum tutorial from our friends at the Wandering Bull, more videos from Gathering of Nations, and new pow wows added to the calendar this week.
Join me TODAY at 4:00 PM live on YouTube and Facebook. I'm drawing the winners for the Countdown to Gathering of Nations giveaway, including the Pendleton blanket. If you entered, you won't want to miss it.
It's our own community space, no algorithms, no ads, no drama. Just people who love pow wows and Native culture, hanging out and actually talking to each other. We run it ourselves, completely separate from Facebook or any of the big platforms.
We just wrapped up a private craft class with Wandering Bull that was a blast, and we're already cooking up another one for June. Plus there are discussions, polls, challenges, and more happening all the time.
If social media has been wearing you out lately, come find us somewhere that actually feels good. We'd love to have you. π circle.powwows.comβ
There's something deeply satisfying about playing an instrument you made with your own hands. A hand drum built from rawhide and a wooden frame carries a connection to craft and tradition that a store-bought drum simply can't replicate. The good news? It's more accessible than you might think.
Here at The Wandering Bull, we've been walking people through this process for years, and with a little patience and the right materials, you can have a beautiful, playable 13-inch hand drum in about two days.
π΄ This Week in Native History β Because the Story Doesn't End Here
The Wampanoag β the very tribe that sat down with the Pilgrims β pulled off something linguists said was virtually impossible in the 2000s.
Their language, WΓ΄panΓ’ak, had been completely silent for over 150 years. No fluent speakers. No recordings. Just old documents. Then one tribal member, Jessie Little Doe Baird, earned her linguistics degree from MIT, dug through centuries-old written records, and built the language back from scratch. By the 2010s, children on the reservation were growing up speaking it as a first language β the first time that had happened in over 100 years.
Linguists call it the first successful revival of a Native language in the U.S. with no living speakers. The tribe calls it bringing their ancestors home.
Want more of these types of stories?
π Subscribe to This Week in Native History and make sure the full story is always in your inbox.
We're uploading videos from the 2026 Gathering of Nations, and they are a ton!
Here's the cool part: this year we streamed using Ecamm, and they just rolled out a feature that records your stream in vertical and horizontal format simultaneously. That means every video is already ready to go for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, and Reels β no extra editing, no reformatting. Just great content in the format you actually want to watch.
On top of that, our photographer Fulgens joined us on the ground shooting vertical video on his camera and phone, and so did I.
We're talking hundreds of vertical videos heading to our YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
If you're doing any kind of live streaming or video production, Ecamm is the real deal β I've been using it for years. Get 15% off at ecamm.com/powwows.
If you've ever found out about a pow wow after it happened β this one's for you.
The Powwows.com Pow Wow Calendar eBook is your go-to guide for finding pow wows near you, organized by month and state for the next 12 months. No more digging through websites or hoping you stumble across something in time. It's all in one place, updated and delivered right to you.
And it's not just a static list β it's a fully searchable PDF you can pull up on your phone, tablet, or computer. Click links for more details on any event, search by state, plan ahead by month. It's the pow wow calendar you've always wanted, in a format that actually works for how you live.
New edition sent every month. Always current. Always ready.
$5.00 / month
$3.75 / month
Pow Wow Calendar eBook
View Pow Wow listings by month and state for the next 12 months.
Each month we will send a new edition! The ebook... Read more
Every great story deserves a good discussion around the fire.
That's what The Circle is, a gathering place for everyone who wants more than a weekly read. A place to ask questions, share photos, trade stories, and connect with people who show up for the same reasons you do.
No noise. No algorithm. Just the community you've been looking for.
The Circle is open. Pull up a seat.
And this weekβs conversation starter is a fun one:
Has current events changes your summer travel plans?
Come jump into the conversation, see what everybody else is saying, and add your pick too. I always love seeing where these discussions go.
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