NATCHEZ — What started as a small gathering at the Liberty Park fairgrounds will culminate this weekend into the 25th anniversary of the Natchez Powwow.

The celebration of Native American history and culture first began when Dr. Chuck Borum decided to bring a powwow to the Miss-Lou after seeing many successful type events in Oklahoma, where he lived for a few years.

“Whenever I wasn’t on call working in Oklahoma, I was out going to the dances and everything else they offered there,” Borum said. “When I moved back to Natchez, I just thought it would be something good to bring to this area.

“I called some of my contacts in Oklahoma, pulled a dance together, and it kind of grew from there.”

Apart from finding people to participate in the event, Borum said his main challenge in organizing the event came with ensuring he kept everything as authentic as possible.

“I’ve been to a lot of powwows that some people might say were for ‘hobbyists’ sort of like St. Patrick’s Day where everybody’s Irish for that day,” Borum said. “I’m not American Indian myself, but I try to respect the ways and traditions of these cultures, and we try not to presume to represent anything.

“I take guidance from my Indian friends, and we have a good time.”

After the first successful powwow, the event moved to the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians, where it has been hosted since 1990.

The move was something Jim Barnett, director of the Grand Village, said was important for cultural significance.

“Most powwows you might attend are held on places like county fairgrounds or school sports fields, but the Natchez Powwow is unique because it’s held on a real American Indian ceremonial site,” Barnett said. “You can stand out there, listen to the drums and watch the dancing, and you can really close your eyes and imagine the same kinds of things going on 300 years before.”

Barnett said he’s enjoyed watching the event grow from a handful of people to an event that typically draw between 3,000 to 4,000 people from across the nation.

“It’s by far the biggest public event of the year we have here,” Barnett said. “The Natchez Powwow is really a gathering place for American Indians, as well as a place for people of the Miss-Lou to come and experience Indian dancing, drumming and singing.”

The gates of the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians at 400 Jefferson Davis Blvd. will open at 10 a.m. Saturday. The gourd dance begins at 1 p.m., with the grand entry and intertribal dancing to follow at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

On Sunday, the gates open at 11 a.m., and the gourd dance starts at 1 p.m. The grand entry and intertribal dancing starts at 2 p.m.

Tribes represented may include Natchez, Ponca, Comanche, Creek, Cherokee, Shawnee-Quapaw, Delaware, Oto, Osage, Mississippi Choctaw, Coushatta, Cheyenne, Potowatami, Navajo and Sac Fox.

But the Natchez Powwow is also more than just dancing and music, as many Native Americans come from out of town to display and sell their crafts and foods. Borum said to expect festival-style food, and that someone always makes Indian fry bread, which is also known as Indian tacos.

Entrance to the powwow costs $5 for adults and $3 for children under 12 years of age. Portions of the entry fee will go to the Natchez Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

And as Borum prepares to celebrate the 25th year of the event, he said none of it would be possible without the support of the local community.

“It’s interesting because I run into people all the time who tell me, ‘Oh, the Natchez Powwow is a big tradition and we come every year,’ and some of them I don’t even know but they’ve adopted the powwow and come every year,” Borum said. “They love it, and I think the Natchez community has really responded to the powwow.”