36th Annual Black Hills Pow kicks off

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) –The 36th Annual Black Hills Pow Wow is underway in Rapid City.

You can find Hand Games around the world, however this version is a Lakota style tradition.

“16 total sticks, which is eight sticks on each side. And it’s just a simple four guesses. You either point left, you point right, down the middle or outside. And it’s a thing for the youth to come together to have fun. To make new friends from different schools,” Hand Game Coordinator Marlon Kelly said.

Schools from South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and more are participating.

“Like way back in the day you would play a game of Hand Games to settle the dispute. And I think that’s a really fun and interesting fact because now to us it’s something that we really love to do and we really love to share with the people around us and we get to have a whole lot of fun,” Lakota Tech Senior Wakiyantowah Ota Shakespeare said.

“Pass on our traditions, our cultural ways, or our life ways a lot of us call it. No matter what tribe or what reservation you’re from, just to make sure that you know, for future generations and future years. We have these that are still being played today and still being taught today,” Kelly said.

Activities like these, also allow these kids to make new friends.

“Some of my Hand Games buddies are like some of my closest friends ever and I’ve never even went to school with them. I only met them because of Hand Games. You know, it’s just so awesome that we get to do it so publicly. We get to share this game with the world,” Shakespeare said.

The 36th Annual Black Hills Pow Wow will continue all weekend long with several events running throughout each day.

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