Indian Summer Festival, 29th Annual Event & Competition Pow Wow 2015, September 11, 12, 13, at Henry Maier Festival Park, Milwaukee, WI,

CLANS. This year’s theme “Gathering of Clans” for this 29th Annual Indian Festival PowWow and Competition, recognizes the importance of relationships, responsibilities and duties tied to clan affiliation and the sense of belonging. Traditionally, the question, “Who is your clan,” was often asked to find out if the person was connected to you or not. Historically, clans offer both social and political structure. For example, individuals did not marry within their clan, and many clan symbols can be seen as marks on treaties entered into by Indian nations and the U.S. government. Among the clans represented in the Great Lakes area, in specific Wisconsin, many clans are names of animals, such as bear, marten, or eagle and sometimes physical phenomenon, such as thunder. Each clan carries responsibilities to within the community. For example, bear clan often serves as security and also possess knowledge of medicines. There will be a special exhibit in the Living Cultures area explaining some of the clans represented in the tribes of Wisconsin.