Photo by Skip Lawrence Mary Milam of Chemehuevi, Calif., performs in the intertribal dance during the Healing Horse Spirit Powwow in Mount Airy on Sunday.

"Without the Indian and the horse, the culture we know today wouldn't exist," Elle Williams, executive director of HorseNet Horse Rescue, said Sunday. "Horses and Indians go together like peanut butter and jelly."

So it was a perfect match for HorseNet to pair up with the American Indian community to stage a powwow that would raise money to care for horses in need.

Most powwows on the East Coast do not include horses, she said, so the addition of horses made the Healing Horse Spirit Powwow, held Saturday and Sunday at the Mount Airy carnival grounds, " a true traditional powwow," Williams said.

"Indians respect horses, revere them, like they do all of nature," she said. "They realize what true spiritual creatures horses are, what great beings they are. This is truly a perfect match for us to work together."

Williams, who is part Choctaw, started HorseNet in 1997 after becoming aware of the need for a their rescue organization.

Rescue organizations for smaller animals, from dogs and cats to ferrets and snakes, are quite common, but the needs of horses make horse rescue more of a challenge.

On a 47-acre farm in Mount Airy and a second location in New Windsor, HorseNet is home to about 100 horses.

"We get horses from many situations," Williams said. "From people who can no longer afford them, because an owner has died, because of a divorce, any number of situations."

Rescuers hope owners will call for help before things get desperate for the animal, Williams said, noting that HorseNet tries to help everyone who calls, but sometimes that isn't possible because resources are stretched too thin.

The sluggish economy is hurting the group, which is 100 percent donation supported and volunteer staffed.

"We exist solely on donations and when money gets tight, people have less money to donate," she said. "Donations are flat but the price of hay has gone way up and the price of gas continues to go up."

Place of honor

The horse had an obvious place of honor at the powwow, from the live horses that marched in an elegant and colorful opening ceremony to the many equine depictions in paintings, drawings, sculptures and on clothing.

Even some of the steps and movements of the Indian dancers were reminiscent of a horse in motion.

Rex Begaye is a Navajo artist who has spent his life creating what his wife, Barbara, calls a visual library of American Indian history.

"He is a storyteller through his art," she said while Rex talked to visitors at his booth. "In his art, the woman always represents Mother Earth, and much of his work is about the environment and honors the earth."

Bison, wolves, eagles and horses make appearances in many of Begaye's paintings and drawings, which often convey messages of spirituality or honor centuries-old traditions.

"His paintings are extensions of the stories that have been passed down through the generations," Barbara said. "Some of these stories date back to the days of dinosaurs; his works take you from long ago to the edge of tomorrow."

Tradition in the making

A powwow is a colorful celebration, with Native American dancers and musicians dressed from head to toe in traditional robes and headdresses.

A circle of ground is roped off for the performance ring. The soothing cadence of drums is accompanied by songs that don't have words, yet have melodies that are comforting.

Dancers fill the circle and perform in dances that look free-flowing yet uniform.

Children walk with the loving arm of an adult on their shoulders, and members of different tribes treat each other like long-lost brothers.

At commercial stands, artists and crafters peddle homemade wares, such as crafts, jewelry, paintings, sculpture, pottery and clothing. Everything sold honors the lives and traditions of Native Americans.

And it is precisely that love, respect and reverence for tradition that makes Williams hope this powwow will become an annual event.

"We're hoping to make it a tradition," she said. "It's a great way to honor our horses and help them at the same time."