DOWAGIAC — Sunday afternoon, a group of Michigan veterans stood in a line, waiting to enter an arena hidden on the grounds of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ Language and Culture Center in Dowagiac. Some held military or state flags in their hands, while others held elaborate staffs, adorned with feathers and the caricature of an eagle.

Soon, tribal music began to play in the arena, and the veterans began to move forward, stepping in beat with the drum. Behind the veterans, men and women of all ages came dancing, dressed in colorful costumes, while the voice of an MC could be heard throughout the arena.

“This is a day we remember our veterans,” said the voice. “This is a day that we celebrate them.”

The Pokagon Band is hosted its ninth annual Oshke-Kno-Kewéwen Pow Wow, an annual celebration honoring Pokagon veterans and the community’s Eagle Staff this past weekend. The event, which featured traditional dancing and singing, was hosted Saturday, May 26 and Sunday, May 27 at the Pokagon Band’s pow wow arena, located at its Rodgers Lake campus, 58620 Sink Road, Dowagiac.

Oshke-Kno-Kewéwen in the Potawatomi language refers to a new eagle staff, which is much like a national flag. The Pokagon Band veterans constructed two eagle staffs which hold dozens of eagle feathers, each representing a tribal family. The Memorial Day weekend pow wow honors the staffs and the hundreds of Pokagon veterans and past tribal leaders represented on it, said Paige Risser, Director of Communications for the Pokagon Band.

“This is our way of bringing honor to those who have served in the military some way,” Risser said.

One of the dancers at the pow wow, Tom Johnson, of Petoskey, Michigan, agreed with Risser’s assessment, saying that the pow wow was about honoring Pokagon Band veterans. Fiddling with the bells on his costume, Johnson said that he has danced in the pow wow since he was 14 years old, and always looks forward to the opportunity to honor local veterans through dance.

“We need to thank our veterans for all they do,” he said. “That’s very important, to recognize their sacrifice… and to do it in this traditional way is a good thing.”

Veterans who participated in the ceremony said they appreciated the effort the Pokagon Band puts toward honoring native veterans through the pow wow.

Roger Williams (Indian name Kookoosh Mine Kichinodin), of the Pokagon Band of Ogitchedaw and of Dowagiac, served in the U.S. Air Force from 1957 to 1967. He said that it was an honor for him to participate in pow pow dance and to be recognized for his service.

“We recognize our veterans more than any other ethnic group,” he said. “It means the world to be a part of this and let the world that we served this country and are the same people who helped [the pilgrims] through that first winter.”

Williams added that the event also allows him to celebrate his Native American heritage and said he hoped the pow wow did the same for others.

“The pow wow always elevates my personal pride as a Native American,” he said. “I love it.”