In honor of California’s Indian day, Fresno City College hosted a pow wow in the Free Speech area last Friday.

The festivities included dancing, singing and friendship of both non-natives and Native Americans. The various performers were members of OSA (OSA center for Indian education in Fresno) a major contributor of the event.

Such dances are done to represent grief or joy, as well as prayer and war alongside drummers that sing in vocables.

Cisco Hernandez explained the interpretation of these dances in order to teach children the Native culture through song and dance.

Complete with booths that sold traditional Native American art such as sculptures, paintings, baskets and dream-catchers, FCC students enjoyed the day filled with entertainment and rich culture.

Organized by FCC’s NAISA (Native American Inter-Tribal Students Association), the day’s festivities proved to be a success in the eyes of OSA member Frankie Williams.

“[The celebration] was really good. A lot of students came in,” said Williams.

Robert Sanders, Native American History major and Public Relations officer of NAISA at FCC worked with the organization on campus to make the festivities a success. With the help of sponsors such as Wells Fargo and OSA, the event thrived until the campus withered down at the end of the day.

NAISA’s members are currently working on other events soon to take place at FCC. According to Sanders, the is looking to set up free flu vaccinations on campus for students, and seminars sponsored by Wells Fargo to advise students on good economical choices.