Powwow this weekend honors war veterans

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa will hold its annual Veterans Powwow Friday through Sunday, July 12-14, at the powwow grounds at 1150 Mission Road. The free event recognizes the sacrifices of veterans still with us and those before them.

Activities kick off Friday with a 7 p.m. grand entry ceremony and the first round of special dances. On Saturday, the grand entry is at 1 p.m. followed by the honoring of veterans at 1:30 p.m. There will be a 5 p.m. feast and grand entry again at 7 p.m. On Sunday, participants can enjoy breakfast at 10 a.m. and final entry at 1 p.m.

FDL veterans service officer Tom Whitebird said all area veterans are invited. He estimated there were more than 300 veterans at last year's powwow, many of them Native American. All are welcome, he said.

Whitebird said they hold the annual powwow to show their appreciation to veterans.

"It's to help the older ones, the younger ones, celebrate all of them and the fact that they served," Whitebird said. "And to honor the ones that didn't make it back too.

“We didn’t get that when we came back from Vietnam,” he added. “All we got was stuff thrown at us.”