NATCHEZ &045;&045; Native Americans from as far away as North Carolina and Oklahoma gathered Saturday at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians to celebrate their traditions with songs and dances at the 2004 Natchez Powwow.

&uot;Powwow is an intertribal celebration where we all come together to celebrate our customs,&uot; Osage tribesman Terry Adams of Oklahoma said.

Adams emceed the festivities Saturday, as Kiowa, Comanche, Cherokee, Choctaw and a host of other tribes joined the powwow’s Grand Entry.

Male and female, young and old, danced into an arena around a center drum in brilliant dance clothes as songs filled the air.

&uot;In Oklahoma, there’s a powwow every weekend within a hundred miles. Wherever Native Americans end up in the world, we powwow,&uot; Adams said.

Natchez physician Chuck Borum headed the effort 16 years ago to start the Natchez Powwow.

&uot;Native Americans didn’t have a written history. Their traditions were passed on through songs and dances,&uot; Borum said.

Borum and his wife, Chris, became interested in powwowing when they lived in Oklahoma.

&uot;She’s from Oklahoma, and she always looked forward to the powwows out there. So when we moved back to Natchez in 1986, we wanted to start organizing powwows here,&uot; Borum said.

With help from Natchez historian Jim Barnett and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Natchez Powwow became a yearly event at the Grand Village.

Barnett said he expected about 5,000 visitors to attend this year’s two-day event.

Teacher Melissa Richey of Senatobia attended the powwow with a group of 86 students and parents from Senatobia Middle School.

&uot;We brought our gifted students down here for the Pilgrimage and the Powwow this weekend. They’re having a great time,&uot; Richey said.

Some in the crowd enjoyed the celebration from lawn chairs and blankets while others browsed through blankets, beads, woodwork and leather crafts at vending booths.