Shamir Griffin is a firm believer in the preservation of one’s culture.

While he could have been doing a lot of things on the first day of his Fourth of July weekend, Griffin spent it gearing up as a traditional Choctaw “grass dancer” – donning the garb of his native Mississippi, albeit with a few personal touches.

For one, his college fraternity at CSU Bakersfield, Kappa Sigma, was honored with its Greek letters and colors dispersed throughout his attire.

But the real reason he was part of the Grand Entry on Friday at the 38th annual Three Rivers Indian Lodge Pow Wow was because of the way connecting to his roots and his culture makes him feel.

“It’s good medicine and it gives you good energy – the dancing,” Griffin said while readying himself beside car on the side of Union Road. “I strongly believe that if you don’t know where you’ve been you’ll never know where you’re going, and it’s important to understand the knowledge and the roots of our culture which was nearly completely eradicated.

“It’s about getting in touch with that history and living through storytelling.”

Others like Rene Navarro-Jaramillo, who is of Mescalero Apache heritage, have made dancing in Pow-Wows throughout the United States and parts of Canada a lifelong dedication.

For more than 40 years Navarro-Jaramillo has been donning the intricate beadwork of his native heritage and specializing in the “fancy war dance.”

It isn’t uncommon for he and his family to take trips as far away as Wisconsin, Oklahoma, the Dakotas and even Alberta, Canada, where he spends several weeks visiting friends and family from the Pow Wow trail.

“There’s a lot of preserving culture and tradition with this,” he said. “There are lots of things that kids aren’t learning in school unless they’re learning it on the reservation, and as adults we’re always learning – learning from our elders so that we too can pass it on.

“There’s a lot of history in these dances and by doing them we keep that history alive.”

Those that didn’t have any experience with the traditional dances marveled at their intricacy and their beauty.

While she has lived in the area for decades, Janelle White said that she came only came out at the recommendation of a friend, and couldn’t believe some of the intricate work that goes into the traditional wear.

“You can just feel the sense of history,” White said. “And some of the things that these men and women have assembled are breathtaking. The beads and the feathers that you can tell were all made by hand – it’s something that you don’t see every day. I’m really glad that I finally got the chance to come and see this.”

The Three Rivers Indian Lodge Pow-Wow continues today and Sunday at the facility located at 13505 S. Union Road.