Into the woods to celebrate Manhattan's first inhabitants

Inwood Park & the Henry Hudson Bridge

If you ride the A subway as far north as it will go, you emerge at the intersection of Broadway and West 207th Street, in the part of Manhattan known as Inwood.

This neighbourhood is bordered on three sides by the Hudson River and although it is still largely dominated by apartment-living, the quiet and hilly streets seem somewhat suburban, and Midtown Manhattan feels half a world away.  A friend of mine lives up in this leafy area and we often joke that his apartment is in Canada.  But to be fair, if the express train works in his favour he can get from Inwood to Midtown Manhattan in about 25 minutes.

I ventured up here for the first time ever today, to watch the 12th Annual Drums Along The Hudson Festival, a Native American and multicultural celebration.  This annual event is held in historic Inwood Hill Park, a short walk from the subway.  Inwood Hill Park is the only remaining old-growth forest in Manhattan.  Thousands of years ago it was fertile hunting and gathering grounds for the Lenape peoples, the original inhabitants of Manhattan.  They called this area "Shorakapok", which means "the edge of the river".

The Festival is the City's chance to recognise and experience the extent of this Native American heritage in Manhattan, but also in the other boroughs that make up New York.  The Festival is organised by Lotus Music & Dance, and today's program not only reflected Native American traditions but also those of the Pacific Islands, Africa, Peru, and Indonesia.

Beckoned by the sounds of drums and chants, I wound my way through the Park along the sun-dappled pathways, past the dog run and the Little League teams practicing on the ballfields.

In the clearing, on what is normally the soccer field, I could see rows of little marquee tents, so I wandered over for a closer look.

Vendors were still setting up when I arrived, but they were carefully arranging display cases full of silver jewelry, wind chimes decorated with feathers and beads, leather purses, and wooden instruments and trinkets galore.

A lady sold me a delicious glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade, and I found a shady tree under which to stretch out and read the Festival brochure.

I worked out that the Festival was actually spread out over two principal venues - the soccer field, and a smaller grassed area where the Main Stage had been set up.  The full day program included storytelling for children, lots of dancing and singing, and the planting of a white pine tree (the Iroquois symbol of peace).

But for me, the piece de resistance was the 1pm grand entrance of Native Peoples (in their full regalia) into the Pow Wow Field.  In some Native American cultures, a Pow Wow used to refer to an actual person - a wise man with special abilities to heal the sick or commune with the spirit world.  Wherever the pow wow was dispatched, tribes would gather to pray, sing, and dance to help the mystical process along.  Over time, these gatherings themselves came to be known as powwows.  Traditionally a powwow takes place inside a sacred area called "The Circle", and the ceremony starts with a "Grand Entry" of the dancers inside the Circle, paying their respects to their Creator and meeting and greeting one another through dance and song.  I was so excited to have the chance to see one of these special ceremonies for myself.

And it was no accident that this Festival came to be held in Inwood Park.  On the crest of a gentle hill, not far from the soccer field is the historic Shorakapok Rock.  Legend has it that on this site in 1626, Peter Minuit "purchased" Manhattan from the Lenape peoples in exchange for some cloth, beads, weapons and assorted items worth about USD24.  A giant tulip tree used to mark the spot where this transaction took place but that was destroyed in 1938. About 20 years later, the site was rededicated with this plaque you see here.

Under the blazing hot sun, I took a seat on the bleachers a little before 1pm and the powwow got underway shortly thereafter.   With amazing drumming and singing from the Heyna Second Son and Silver Cloud groups, the dancers made their Grand Entrance into the sacred circle.

Today's performance did not have the spiritual background of a traditional powwow; rather, this was just social dancing for entertainment's sake.  All the same, when the dancing finally started it was an explosion of colours, textures, and noise.

The inter-tribal nature of the gathering meant that the costumes were all different and the dance steps were too - some people just slowly stomp-walked, taking baby steps and inching their way along, while others leapt and ducked and kicked their legs in more elaborate fashion.  Now I know I am a terrible photographer, and I'm fairly sure my video skills are worse, but for what it's worth, here's some footage I took of the powwow today:

Having baked in the sun for a while, my friend Caskey joined me on the bleachers and saw a bit of the powwow action.  We then disappeared for some delicious brunch at the hugely-popular Indian Road Cafe, which was a perfect spot for a long-overdue catch up.

Inwood doesn't have the hustle-bustle of Midtown Manhattan, but I think that makes the journey up there all the more valuable.  I loved Inwood Hill Park, and even though a lot of people were there today for the Drums Festival, just as many were making the most of the bike paths, ballparks, and wooden benches dotted throughout.  Lots of sunbathers, and people reading in shady spots - it was a lovely refuge.