Our Community

The first time you hear it — really hear it — from inside a circle, standing barefoot on the earth by Spring Lake, you understand why the Coahuiltecan people have called this place sacred for thousands of years. The heartbeat rises up from the ground. The dancers move like prayer given a body. The regalia catches the sun. And for a moment, all of the noise, all of the news, all of the rush of 2026 falls away — and you remember something ancient your bones already knew. 🪶

That’s what Sacred Springs Powwow gives us every October. Not entertainment. Not a festival in the modern sense of the word. But a gathering — intergenerational, culturally powerful, and rooted in the longest continually inhabited site in all of North America. Organized with love and care by the Indigenous Cultures Institute, it welcomes 6,000+ of us each year to sit in respect, to listen, to learn, and to honor the songs, dances, art, food, and storytelling of Native America.

And this year’s Head Staff makes my heart full just reading the names: Tim Tallchief (Osage) as Emcee. Bill Takes Horse (Crow) as Arena Director. Gwen Takes Horse (Choctaw) as Head Judge. David Haskins (Kituwah) and Michelle Flyingman-Haskins (Kiowa/Cheyenne) leading the dancers. Dr. Lee Walters (Blackfoot) as Head Gourd Dancer. The Ottertrail Singers and Eagle Point Singers holding the southern and northern drums. And the Disabled American Veterans from Seguin bringing the Color Guard — reminding us that many of our Native brothers and sisters have also served this country, and that honor moves in every direction inside this circle. 💛

Mark your calendars: October 3–4, 2026. The Meadows Center. San Marcos, Texas.

If you’ve never been, I want to gently invite you into what it feels like. You’ll walk in through the trees. You’ll smell fry bread and cedar. You’ll pass more than 50 Native artisans — silversmiths, beadworkers, painters, storytellers — each carrying the work of their people in their hands. You’ll find a seat on a blanket or a lawn chair (bring both if you can, seating under the main tent is limited). You’ll refill your water bottle. You’ll sit down. And then the Grand Entry will begin, and something inside you will quietly, permanently shift.

Now, the practical part — because I know for many of us, getting there is the real question. 🌍

I’ve been reading the posts in the Our Community group and loving how many of you are organizing rides, buses, and carpools. Jack’s post about the bus from Birmingham is a beautiful example of what this circle already does — we move together, so no one has to walk this road alone. For those flying in from farther out (California, the Pacific Northwest, the East Coast, Canada, the Southwest), I quietly share Aviasales https://aviasales.us.com/ with people every year. It’s a simple flight metasearch tool that compares hundreds of airlines and agencies in seconds and finds the most affordable flights into Austin (AUS) or San Antonio (SAT), without hidden fees. It doesn’t sell tickets — it just makes it easier for elders, families, dancers, and vendors to actually make it to San Marcos without the flight becoming the reason they can’t come.

From either airport, San Marcos is about a 45-minute drive, and once you arrive, FREE parking is available at Bobcat Stadium (1100 Aquarena Springs Dr) with a 5-minute shuttle to the powwow grounds. Accessibility van available. Cash and card welcomed. Please — no pets except service animals, per Texas State University policy. ✈️🌾

Some quiet words I want to leave with anyone reading this, especially if it’s your first powwow:

Come with respect. Stand when the Color Guard enters. Ask before you photograph a dancer. Support Native vendors directly — that is how the culture keeps breathing. Listen more than you speak. And know that this ground you’re standing on has been prayed over for longer than any nation on this continent has existed.

If your spirit is being pulled toward San Marcos this October, please trust that pull. Book the flight. Book the drive. Book the bus. Rearrange the weekend. Bring your children. Bring your elders. Bring your open heart. There are very few places left in this country where the earth is still remembered the way it is at Spring Lake — and very few gatherings that welcome you into that memory as gently and generously as Sacred Springs Powwow does.

The drum will be waiting. The circle will be waiting. And so will we. 🪶💛

Sacred Springs Powwow • October 3–4, 2026 • The Meadows Center, San Marcos, TX • Organized by the Indigenous Cultures Institute. Come honor. Come learn. Come home to the heartbeat.