The Coushatta Pow Wow has been named among the 10 best “Native American Pow Wows That Wow’em” in the United States, according to PowWows.com.

PowWows.com’s Paul Gowder shared the Top 10 most popular Pow Wows with Larry Bleigber for an article published in the USA Today on Friday.

The Coushatta Pow Wow, hosted annually by the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana at its casino north of Kinder, made the list.

“It was an honor to be named one of the biggest Pow Wows in the country,” Coushatta Cultural Revitalization Coordinator and Pow Wow organizer Crystal Williams said Monday. “That is great news.”

Williams learned of the honors after receiving an email from PowWow.com last week.

“We weren’t even aware they were looking at us, so it was a big surprise,” she said.

The Coushatta Pow Wow is one of the largest in North America and one of Louisiana’s biggest cultural events of Native Americans, Williams said.

The two-day event held in June features authentic Native American food, crafts, dancing and music with dancers, singers, drummers and artisans from across the United States and Canada. This year’s event also highlighted stomp dancing, a style popular among tribes in the Southeast.

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of the Pow Wow and organizers are already anticipating a bigger, better event with more visitors, dancers and singers.

“I think we need to get ready for next year,” Williams said. “We have already started to work on it, but we have to get ready early.”

More than 400 dancers — a record number for the Pow Wow — attended this year’s event, Williams said. The Pow Wow also attracted 13 competitive drummers and nearly 5,000 visitors throughout the weekend.

“We were very excited to see everybody here this year and are excited for the next year,” she said.

The Coushatta Pow Wow is unique in that it is a family-friendly event that offers a look at the culture and heritage of Native Americans, Williams said.(Rick Hickman/American Press)

Rick Hickman