During the week of April 21-28, 2015, a group of elders, family, and friends took the long journey to Albuquerque, N.M., to partake in the activities at the annual Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow.

The trip was sponsored by the FCP Elder Department with Jason Townsend, activities coordinator, and Jenna Paradies, assistant activities coordinator, being the masterminds behind the trek. Not only did they push to see this trip happen, but they put in extensive hours of work to make sure hotels were booked, food was taken care of, and the entire itinerary of the trip was planned out. Townsend commented, “It really was amazing what a trip like this consists of, but Jenna and I had three months of planning and we pulled it off pretty well.” Townsend and Paradies had help with this trip from three other Elder Department employees: Connie, Becky, and Lisa, and their help was greatly appreciated.

The trip started out from the Stone Lake C-Store where participants gathered and the bus proceeded to pick up a few people along the way. A total of 52 elders/families were aboard the bus with a handful of others following in their own vehicles.

Despite stopping every two hours to get a stretch and maybe something to munch on, they made it to the first stop in Collinsville, Ill., for the night. After a good sleep, they were back on the road, stopping for their second night in Oklahoma City, Okla., and then making it to their final destination in Albuquerque, N.M.

Once in Albuquerque, the group split into different directions to venture on their own. Some went to the powwow, others did a tram ride at Sandia Peak, others went to Old Town New Mexico, some did their own shopping, and some enjoyed themselves at the casino nearby. Even when they made the journey home, some were able to visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial on the site of the 1995 bombing.

Those who went to the Gathering of Nations Pow-Wow were overwhelmed with the numbers of dancers, vendors, and people in attendance. Townsend told PTT, “Grand Entry took over two hours! Really… it just never seemed to end! It was amazing to see that many different dancers and tribes together!”

FCP elder Wayne Tuckwab mentioned, “There was so much going on I just had to sit and watch. The walking was tough to do at times.”

Another thing that was enjoyed at the pow-wow was the different types of food—especially the different types of fry bread. Townsend did remark, “None of the fry bread there beat what we have here at home.”

There were also two FCP tribal members who represented the proud nation of Forest County Potawatomi at the pow-wow: elder JR Holmes who carried out the eagle staff during Grand Entry, and FCP Meno Keno Junior Princess Penelope Peters who made the trip with her grandmother. Many were very honored to see FCP be a part of this pow-wow.

In the end, everybody had a great time! No one got lost, no one got hurt, there were many great laughs to be had, and, most of all, everyone enjoyed the time together as a group experiencing this national pow-wow event. Townsend and the rest of the employees really did have a great time learning more about the elders they traveled with and experiencing the fun times they had. Townsend says they are hoping to do this trip every three to five years in the future.

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