There was drumming, dancing, food, handmade crafts and plenty of good conversation at Estabrook Park this past weekend, as the Brandon All-Tribes Gathering returned to town for its second year.

Held Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19-20, the gathering brought together Indigenous drummers, dancers, artists, vendors, families and community members from across the region. While people sometimes use the familiar term “pow wow,” the Brandon event is intentionally more of a gathering — a place to come together, share traditions, honor one another, and welcome people into the circle.

For organizer Moon Margaret Susan Phillips, known as Peggy, that spirit of welcome was evident right from the start. Phillips, who identified herself as Abenaki and Cherokee, opened the gathering with a baby blanket dance to welcome newcomers.

Phillips said she has been attending pow wows throughout New England for 23 years. She has also participated in historical reenactments of Indigenous life, hosted four other pow wows, and is a member of a medicine society. Her goal in bringing the gathering to Brandon is simple: to create a place where people can come together, find community and, especially, help those who may be struggling.

That philosophy extends to the practical details. Vendors were charged only $50 for the weekend, and Phillips emphasized that no elder or child should leave the gathering hungry. The organizers hope to return next year and make the event larger as word spreads.

Several drum groups participated, including an all-women drum circle from Canada. The gathering also benefited from the generosity of local families, including the Sherwood family, who helped provide food.

Security was provided by members of the Hewitt family and Red Rum Motorcycle Club, founded in 2006 by Cliff Matias (Taino/Kichwa) as an Indigenous-based modern warrior society centered on peace, righteousness, and community support.

The group has connections to several support initiatives, including work with children seeking to reconnect with their parents and programs serving people in drug and alcohol recovery. Related chapters and groups include women’s support efforts and gatherings that bring people together across tribal communities. Several chapters were included in the gathering, including one founded by and for deaf members.

The drum, the fire and the circle

For many participants, the heart of the gathering was the drum and the fire.

Mike “Eaglewolf” Eagle, a drummer and spiritualist whose grandmother was Métis from Magog, Canada, said he has been drumming since 1997. He has traveled throughout New England and New York sharing music, prayer and teachings.

For Eagle, the fire is more than a centerpiece. Prayers are offered into it, with the hope that its medicine reaches everyone gathered around it.

“The songs are for everyone,” he explained. The fire represents life, healing, and protection, while the circle represents continuous energy and the connection among all creation.

The gathering featured intertribal songs of honoring and healing — a musical tradition that invites people into the circle rather than simply asking them to watch from the sidelines. In addition to the drummers, musicians included flute player Richie Oliveira of New Jersey, originally from Lima, Peru.

Eagle said that attending gatherings and pow wows can provide a release from tension and bring people together in good spirits through singing, drumming and shared experience.

Art, friendship and tradition

The weekend also featured vendors and artists from the region. April Stewart, known as Hawk Flying Above (Mi'kmaq), brought candles, sage, purses, and pumpkin-themed signs. Stewart said she has made many friends through the creative community in the area and appreciates the way gatherings like this bring people together around gratitude for the Great Spirit and Mother Earth.

Tara Littleflower, who identifies as Mohawk/Iroquois and grew up on the Navajo Reservation, attended with a women's drum group. She has been around pow wows since she was a baby — her brother was a grass dancer, her mother is a beadworker and her father is a Navajo silversmith.

For Littleflower, one of the joys of fancy dancing is the sense of freedom it provides.

“There isn't a specific traditional move,” she explained, describing the dance as an opportunity to move with that feeling of freedom.

And that may be a good description of the Brandon gathering itself: a place where traditions are honored, new friendships are made, stories are shared, and people are invited into the circle.

As Phillips and the other organizers look toward next year's gathering, they said they hope more people from Brandon and the surrounding communities will discover what has begun at Estabrook Park — a weekend built around generosity, music, food, healing, and the simple idea that there is room for everyone in the circle.

^{Photos by author.}