BUTTE — The first of many Indian Taco sales took place on July 28, and all day people trickled into The Native Wellness Center in Butte to pick up a taste of a family recipe that is raising funds for the annual Southwest Native Community PowWow.
Powwow president Peggy Falcon shares with me how she makes this delicious recipe.
"It’s an old tradition from way back. My mother would always have us girls go up to her house, she’d say, ‘You’re gonna learn how to make fry bread.' Her mother made them too; it’s just an old tradition,” says Falcon.
And it’s a tradition that Falcon embraced later in life after getting sober 25 years ago.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic, 25 years. Before that, a powwow to me was just going to snag, just to go look for men, you know, have fun. But when I sobered up, I told myself that in honor of my mother I would dance, so I started dancing,” says Falcon.
Falcon says she also started making fry bread when she entered sobriety and now her Indian Tacos help raise funds to bring dancers to the annual Southwest Native Community PowWow.
“Of course, I make the best fry bread in town. I gotta put that in there,” says Falcon.
The fry bread is made with simple ingredients like flour, oil, eggs, and sugar—but there’s another ingredient that can’t be measured: love.
“Made with a lot of love. A little bit of this and a little bit of that and a whole bunch of love,” says Falcon.
The powwow is in its 47th year of operation in Butte, and Peggy welcomes everyone to join in the dancing and merrymaking and of course, she’ll have Indian Tacos for the hungry participants.
The Southwest Native Community PowWow will take place on Sept. 8 and 9 at the Butte Plaza Mall. The event is free and features a drum circle and dance contests on both days.
On Sept. 9, the day begins with a 1k and 5k run/ walk for suicide awareness and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, followed by a pancake breakfast on Saturday.
The event also features a 50/50 drawing and raffle and Indian Tacos will be sold from Asia Gardens. For more information, call Brenda Jarvis at 406-498-0632.
