Richmond Powwow memories live on

“Where do I begin to tell the story of Richmond Powwow.”

These were the words Janet Quigg, who has Cherokee ancestry, wrote in a letter recalling the years she spent as organizer of the event and the challenges she faced.

The sentence carries significant emotional weight. For 30 years, the annual Richmond Powwow has drawn Native Americans from across the county, state and country, bringing with them their stories and the stories and traditions of their ancestors. 

“Oh, goodness. Oh, they're phenomenal,” Darlene Cook, who is Lakota Sioux with Iroquois ancestry on her mom’s side, said. “It's a spiritual feeding. It's an emotional feeding. It's our native family getting together and fellowshipping together and all at the same time educating the public as to the Native American traditions and ways and cultures from the different tribes.” 

Cook’s parents brought their tepee every year since the powwows began 30 years ago. 

“When they passed on, I carried on the tradition,” Cook said. “We've been here for every powwow (Quigg’s) had, every one of them, and it breaks our heart. It breaks my heart that we're not doing it anymore.”

Starting this year, the Richmond Powwow Association will no longer host the annual powwow – due to the difficulty of securing funding and organizing the event – and will be transitioning to working with schools and adult education. 

Board Chair Paul Rominger, who has Cherokee and Muscogee Creek ancestry, said a lot of people do not know anything about Natives and there is a misconception that there are no Native Americans in Kentucky, which led to the absence of Kentucky laws recognizing state tribes. 

According to Rominger, Colonel John Miller, a Revolutionary War soldier who founded the City of Richmond, said he liked the area due to the clean water and the friendly Native Americans. Additionally, Rominger said that the area near exit 73 where the Buc-ee’s is located used to be a large Shawnee town when Kentucky was founded. 

“We’ve had Natives in Kentucky for a long time,” Rominger said. 

Debra Short, who lives in the Appalachian Mountains and whose Cherokee name is Dancing Butterfly, has danced at the Richmond Powwow since 2007. 

“I dance for my ancestors all the way back, of current today, and for my generations ahead of my ancestors,” Short said. “I am Cherokee. I am very, very proud and honored and blessed to be Cherokee.”

She also said that she was blessed and honored to be a part of the Richmond Powwow for the many years it was held.

“To me it's everything,” Short said. “Being with my Native American family and being able to dance and to send those prayers up to creator for all.”

The committee who organizes the annual Richmond Powwow were also a part of what made it so special, according to Jeff Kemp, who has Cherokee and Comanche ancestry. He first danced in the arena in 1997. 

Debbie Mayes, who has Cherokee ancestry, has been on the committee for almost 30 years helping out with events. She said her kids grew up attending the powwows. 

“It meant a lot, it was something that we looked forward to every year because we did it as a family. I enjoyed coming out and seeing everybody and being with my brothers and sisters and helping when I could and just a fun time.” 

The first Richmond Powwow began in 1994 at EKU when Neil Wright was director of international programs at EKU. 

“So in 1994, we decided instead of doing a European or an Asian country or a South American country, which we would rotate, we would do Native American because it was part of Americana and we felt that it was a neglected part,” Wright said. 

They created a committee to help plan the event and Quigg, who was working in the EKU transportation department at the time, responded to the call for volunteers. 

“She came and she quickly became the real heart of the Native American program,” Wright said. “And doing the powwow became her dream.”

The powwow at EKU was a success and became an annual tradition first located at Irvine McDowell Park, then Lake Reba and finally at Battlefield Park. 

Jerry McClure – the storyteller, retired firefighter, Navy veteran and previous Chief of Bear Clan Piqua Shawnee – is slowly losing his memory due to illness. But his heart remembers what the Richmond Powwow meant to him. He teared up as he recalled the children who used to come to the annual event, the stories he told, and when he used to dance with the drums. 

“When I think about it. I think, geez, pinch myself, we did this. We did this and we did it with our whole hearts,” Quigg said. “Looking back, it seems, I’m going to get a little emotional, it seems impossible that we could do this, but we did.”