Dreamcatcher Scholarship helps Native students reach toward their dreams
On Friday, Nov. 3, Clark College welcomed the community to its annual Powwow event as it hosted Educating for the Seventh Generation, a celebration of Indigenous cultures.
Gaiser Student Center reverberated with drumbeats. Drummers sitting in a circle pounded a steady beat as they chanted. Dancers wearing colorful regalia moved rhythmically up and down and along the floor in a whirl of color.
The dancers and their families had spent countless hours hand sewing their jingle dresses and sewing elaborate beadwork on dresses, leggings, belts, chokers and moccasins. Many wore traditional basket hats woven from cedar bark.
Catarina’s story
Clark College graduate Catarina Salazar was ready to dance. She had spent countless hours creating her colorful regalia. She had hand sewn and twisted 365 metal cones on her red jingle dress. She had beaded her earrings and had made a choker of bone and beads.
Catarina’s tribal affiliation is Dakota/Sioux. She gestured toward her brother sitting nearby and said, “We’ve been dancing since we could walk.”
After earning her associate degree at Clark in 2021, Catarina earned her bachelor’s degree at Central Washington University. Now she is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology at Capella University and will graduate in 2027.
When she was a Clark College student, Catarina received the Dreamcatcher Scholarship twice. The funding helped her step toward her goal: becoming a clinical counselor at the Veterans Administration and working with veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.
But now, it was time for Catarina to dance.
2023 Dreamcatcher Scholarship recipients:
- Duana M. Johnson
- Dabai Do Che
- Meridian Bonser
History of Powwow at Clark College
Since 2009, Clark College has celebrated Indigenous cultures during the first weekend of November with a powwow that includes music, dance, food, vendors, honoring of veterans, and the announcement of the Dreamcatcher Scholarship honoring our vision of Educating for the Seventh Generation.
Clark College coordinates and hosts this annual event in honor of Native American Heritage Month. “Educating for the Seventh Generation” references our responsibility to teach the future Seventh Generation to maintain our resources, traditions, and customs. It is the way of caring and preserving for the Seventh Generation, which is a true sustainable practice to consider the impacts of every decision for the next seven generations into the future.
See the 2023 POWWOW photos by Clark College photographer Jenny Shadley on our Flickr site here.
