The “Pechanga Powwow 2025” concludes Sunday at Pechanga Resort Casino, featuring bird singing, drum dancing, traditional food, competitions with cash prizes and fireworks.
Members of Indian tribes nationwide have descended on Temecula this weekend to celebrate Native American culture with traditional ceremonies to mark the start of 2025 in the resort’s Summit Events Center, a concert venue.
“Powwows, by definition, are Native American gatherings in which American Indians sing, dance, reconnect with old friends and celebrate their rich ancestral histories,” according to a Pechanga statement.
The Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians began hosting powwows in 1995, drawing upward of 75,000 visitors to the free events in the 2010s. After the 2014 powwow, the events were suspended due to major construction on the resort property, which lasted more than five years.
When the resort was ready to hold another one in 2020, the COVID lockdowns were imposed, and ongoing concerns led to a cancellation in 2021. However, the powwows returned in 2022.
Along with tribal “bird dancing” and drum chants, the event includes traditional foods, artisan crafts sales and Peon games.
Additionally, drum contests offer cash prizes as high as $14,000. Featured performers during this year’s drum performances included Blacklodge, Sharpshooter, Southern Thunder, White Tail Boyz and Young Spirit.
More information is available at www.pechanga.com/entertain/pechanga-pow-wow.