The culture of Indigenous people will be celebrated at the Delaware Art Museum on April 12.
On Saturday, the museum plays host to artists, dancers, storytellers, and musicians from many nations and tribes for the 4th Annual Powwow of Arts and Culture, presented in partnership with the Nanticoke Indian Association.
The event shines a spotlight on the rich cultural traditions of Indigenous people. Iz Balleto, who is himself Indigenous, is the Art Museum’s Cultural Programs Manager.
“I just didn't see a lot of representation personally," he says. "I felt like there's so many of us from different tribes, different nations, where are we? Where is our presence?”
Balleto says events like this are an important part of the museum’s mission as well as an important educational tool.
“This is a place of gathering, of expressing and teaching our culture," he says. "Letting people know that our presence is still here and that we're not just a story from the past.”
The event came together four years ago after extensive consultation with, and permission from, tribal organizations.
For Iz Balleto, it's about showcasing the rich cultural traditions of First Nations peoples.
“This gives the public - the community - an opportunity to be properly educated, to properly know what is respectful, what is not," Balleto says. "And we want to continue doing that because this is about humanity. This is about people. This is about all of us.”
The Powwow of Arts and Culture is a free event, starting at 11:00 am Saturday, April 12 at the Delaware Museum of Art.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
