Native American culture honored at Paumanauke Pow Wow at Tanner Park in Copiague

Her dark hair in two braids that hung over either shoulder, Cheyenne “Little Moon” Langhorn waited to enter the dance circle. From the fabric draped across her back, fringes in warm colors fluttered in a gentle wind.

A white feather with a black tip affixed to the back of her head, Langhorn, 18, was the lead dancer at the 43rd annual Paumanauke Pow Wow at Tanner Park in Copiague on Saturday. The weekend-long event, which honors Native American culture, is open to dancers, drummers and merchants of all tribes.

“Since she was a baby, she’s out in the circle,” said her mother, Marcey “Tree in the Wind” Langhorn, of New Jersey. “Even with her diaper, she’d run out there and want to dance with everybody.”

The event, put on by the Paumanauke Native American Festival Inc., the Babylon Citizens Council on the Arts, and the Town of Babylon, drew dozens on Saturday and continues Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the dance circle, food trucks and craft vendors offer clothing, beaded bracelets, dream catchers, and other artisanal goods.

Following a grand entry and flag ceremony, there are dance competitions. Proceeds from the intertribal powwow support a Paumanauke scholarship fund, according to BACCA executive director Jason Jenkins.

“All tribes have the opportunity to be represented, and dance in the competitions together, and there’s merchants from all over,” Jenkins said. “There’s also a couple of native food vendors this year, which is exciting and we’ve been trying to get for a while.”

Monique Charles, 48, of Westbury, said she and her family try to attend all of Long Island’s powwows. In her arms, she held her niece, Xyla Cordero, 4, who said she liked the dancing.

“We have all of these ideas and stereotypes and all that stuff, but to actually see firsthand their traditional dress, and the drumming of songs, and their real connection to their history and their planet,” said Xyla’s mother, Krystal Cordero, of Lindenhurst. “I just think that everyone should come at least one time.”

Among craft vendors on Saturday was Turtle 2 Turtle, run by Marcey Langhorn and her husband, Tony “Moon Hawk” Langhorn. Approximately 80% of the merchandise in the booth is handmade, Marcey Langhorn said. Much of it includes the fur and feathers of roadkill or animals hunted for food.

“We try to use every part of the animal, because it’s sacred,” she said.

The Langhorns, who were on the committee that organized the powwow, come from two different Indian nations. Marcey is from the Ramapough Lenape Nation of New Jersey; Tony comes from the Unkechaug Nation in Mastic.

“My husband and I, we like to keep our culture alive, our history,” Marcey said. “For us, educating one person, if we get one good thing to one person, it makes us feel good. And it lets people know that we are still here.”

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.