The rhythm of the drums drew in a crowd as a Native American couple stomped to a Northern Plains song at the Alachua County Fairgrounds this weekend.
More than 4,000 people came to the three-day event, which ran from Friday to Sunday, at the fairgrounds, at 3100 NE 39th Ave. It showcased Native American culture through dance performances from tribes and demonstrations of hunting skills.
The festival cost more than $25,000 and was mostly self-funded through admission costs and vendors who paid to sell their products at the event, said Pablo DeLuna, 50, the event organizer and part of the Native American Apache tribe.
DeLuna has hosted an annual Native American festival in Brooksville, Florida, for the past six years. He decided to bring one to Gainesville after receiving suggestions to do so from people who traveled to Brooksville from northern Florida for the festival, he said.
“These kind of festivals — powwows, as they’re called, sometimes — I hate to see them die out,” DeLuna said. “Unfortunately, we’ve lost a couple over the years.”
Fabian Fontenelle, 59, speaks to visitors at his booth Saturday during the Gainesville Native American Festival at the Alachua County Fairgrounds, 3100 NE 39th Ave. Fontenelle is from the Zuni and Omaha tribes and lives in the village of Zuni in New Mexico. “We feel it’s very important to share culture and tradition but not to give away what’s private and sacred,” he said.
American Indians and Alaska Natives alone make up 0.3 percent of the Alachua County population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Pat Sutton, 72, from the Native American Wampanoag Tribe, traveled from Rhode Island to sell homemade hair ties and earrings. She traveled from festival to festival for the last 20 years selling items.
“We had a real heart-to-heart connection,” she said.
Gainesville resident Stephanie O’Hair, 38, has been interested in Native American culture since she was 6 or 7 years old when her stepfather went with her to her first Native American festival. She also feels connected to the culture because her great-grandmother was a part of the Native American Cherokee tribe.
“As an adult, I would try to find them, and you couldn’t find them anywhere,” O’Hair said.
Jose Hernandez, a performer from Iztacalco, Mexico, stares down the camera Saturday after performing a traditional Mashika dance during the inaugural Gainesville Native American Festival at the Alachua County Fairgrounds, 3100 NE 39th Ave. The event celebrated Native American culture with a variety of performances and vendors, and hundreds of people attended the event.
