Ponca Tribe To Hold Annual Powwow Near Niobrara

​The Ponca Tribe of Nebraska’s 24th Annual Powwow will be Aug. 11-13 at the Ponca Community Grounds, located southwest of Niobrara, Nebraska.
 
The powwow is a celebration of the tribe’s culture, heritage and traditions, and will feature a variety of dancers, drum groups and vendors. Admission to all events is free, and the powwow is open to the public.
 
Grand entries will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 11, 1 and 7 p.m. on Aug. 12 and 1 p.m. on Aug. 13. Meals will be provided to all in attendance an hour before each grand entry.
 
It is a non-contest powwow, and is meant to serve as an annual gathering and celebration of families and friends.
 
Visitors to this year’s powwow will have the chance to check out the newly renovated powwow grounds, which include a larger arena, new sound system and new lights.
 
There will be a ceremony at 10 a.m. Aug. 12, where a new Chief Standing Bear/Ponca Tribe of Nebraska storyboard will be unveiled by the National Park Service  at the South Dakota side of Chief Standing Bear Bridge.
 
In addition, the tribe’s diabetes program will host a Color Me Healthy color run at 5 p.m. on Aug. 11. Participants will run 2 miles while being sprayed with a wide variety of colors.
 
The Ponca Tribe has a 15-county service delivery area: Boyd, Burt, Douglas, Hall, Holt, Knox, Lancaster, Madison, Platte, Sarpy, Stanton and Wayne counties in Nebraska; Pottawattamie and Woodbury counties in Iowa; and Charles Mix County in South Dakota. Office sites are located in Lincoln, Niobrara, Norfolk and Omaha in Nebraska, and Sioux City in Iowa.

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