Imagine a vibrant powwow precession making its way down Colorado Boulevard on Jan. 1 with hundreds of Indigenous dancers adorned in traditional regalia — ribbon shirts and dresses, fancy shawls, jingle skirts, beaded medallions and feathered headdresses all bouncing to the rhythm of drums beat.
Flanking them are horses where elders, powwow pageantry and local leaders waving at a gathered crowd. Behind them, covered in vibrant flowers, towers a float decorated to honor the many Native tribes and nations of the Americas.
Peter Roybal, of the Chiricahua Apache tribe, won’t see his vision become reality on Monday. But as the parade pageantry builds on the eve of the 2024 Tournament of Roses, he hasn’t given up. In fact, he’s already preparing for 2025.
Roybal, of Pasadena, started Powwow on Parade in 2022, a coalition of nations, including Lakota, Tonon O’odam, Navajo, Serrano and Apache, devoted to promoting Indigenous culture and education, using parades as a platform.
And what a platform Jan. 1 is. The Rose Parade, seen by some 50 million across the globe, and nearly a million in person on Jan. 1, is a stage of all stages.
Roybal’s group came close this year to being on that stage on Monday. But there was only so much time – and money.
A Powwow on Parade float was out of the question for 2024, since application submissions and planning began the year before. The group was formally organized in the spring of 2022, leaving little time to raise the float money.
The Tournament of Roses charges float entry fees ranging from $5,000 to $35,000. Commercial design and construction for a float begins at $325,000, according to Candy Carlson, communications director of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.
There was another, less costly, option: Powwow on Parade could enter as an equestrian group.
Equestrian units’ costs are significantly less expensive for organizations to participate in the Rose Parade. The Tournament of Roses charges $125 per rider,…
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