Hello! Aaron here, the person behind the camera!
The Apache Gold Casino Pow Wow is less than a 2-hour drive east of Phoenix, next to Globe, Arizona. There's a $7 admission fee per person-last year, they took cash only, but this year, they accepted cards. I was surprised to see they had WiFi! Last year, my phone had no signal, but this time, with my Mint Mobile network, I had a poor connection for data but could still send texts and pictures to my family. Once I connected to the casino's WiFi, I was even able to live stream on TikTok! Having WiFi was a HUGE plus this year.
The pow wow takes place at the casino's indoor rodeo grounds (the Prime Steakhouse building on Google Maps). Above the bleacher seats, there were heaters, which felt nice when I walked past them. I sat on the ground level since I like to be low to the floor for better filming angles. At night, it was a bit chilly, but I was comfortable with just my lightweight packable puffer jacket-last year, I was shivering 🤣. Another improvement was the packed-down floor. They used a construction roller to compact the dirt and rocks, making a solid surface, so we didn't kick up as much dust into the air. I really appreciated the extra effort from the casino to make this year's event more comfortable!
There were clean bathrooms on the opposite side from the MC. They were small but well maintained by staff. As always, there were plenty of merch and food vendors. Frybread was $8, but the best food option was the spam burritos-they included spam, potatoes, a slice of green chile, a choice of frybread or tortilla, and a few packets of salt, all for $8!!! It was filling!
MC Ruben Littlehead was hilarious! I'm sure I've seen him before in the past (before I started Indigenous Event Recordings), but I definitely remember him from Florida's Seminole Pow Wow. His jokes about staying at El Rey in Globe had me chuckling behind the camera, and when he mentioned a surprise drum group, White Fish Jrs, I was really looking around like, "Where are they going to put them?!"-then I realized he was pranking us 🤣. The role of the MC is not only to keep the event flowing but also to honor traditions and educate us about the significance of what's happening. Entertaining us with their words is always a big plus!
I was also really happy we wrapped up at midnight instead of 2am like last year's Saturday pow wow! It made a huge difference in getting rest and preparing for Sunday's events.
This is just the first of a two-day event-I have more to say, but I'll save it for Sunday's review! Thanks for watching! I have a few more videos from this weekend to start working on!
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