Wildhorse Pow Wow converges on El Camino College Saturday and Sunday

By Elsa Rosales • January 29, 2026

Kiara Love Flores (center), 23, Pala, Calif., and others perform traditional dances at the 27th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow in the North Gym at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Flores, who is Kuupangaxwichem/Cupeño and Northern Ute, served as the head woman dancer at the two-day event Saturday and Sunday. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

The 28th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow comes to the North Gym at El Camino College for two days of traditional singing, drumming and dancing from Saturday, Jan. 31 to Sunday, Feb. 1.

Hosted by the Wildhorse Native American Association, the event marks its third consecutive year on campus after outgrowing Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, where it was held from 2014–2023. The event was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to COVID-19.

Attendees take a break during intermission at the 27th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow in the North Gym at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Hosted by the Wildhorse Native American Association, the event took place at ECC for the second year, after being held at Leuzinger High School in Lawndale, Calif., for 10 years. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

The first Wildhorse Pow Wow — not to be confused with the Wildhorse Resort and Casino’s event in Oregon — was in 1997 at Lawndale High School, where it was held until 1999. It moved to North High School in Torrance, where it ran from 2000–2010, before returning to Lawndale from 2011–2013 and then moving to Leuzinger.

“The Wildhorse Pow Wow, as you know, has been going on for 28 years,” Wildhorse President Jorge Lechuga, who is Diné/Navajo, said. “We have always worked to keep it in the South Bay area.”

Members of the Wildhorse Native American Association, including Tso Richard Yanez (far left), Jorge Lechuga (third from left) and Art Neri (second from right), with Master of Ceremonies Arlie Neskahi (center), who is Diné/Navajo, announce scholarship recipients at the 27th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow in the North Gym at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. The association is a non-profit organization that provides "year-by-year scholarships to local Native American college students," according to the Wildhorse Singers website. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

Powwows are intertribal, social gatherings where cultural traditions are shared and passed on to younger generations, native vendors sell food and merchandise, and cash prizes and scholarships are awarded to Native singers, dancers, drummers and students.

“We had the privilege to work with André3000 in early 2023,” Lechuga said. “We thought it would be great if he would come to our powwow that year and present the scholarships.”

André3000 accepted, but he was injured a few weeks before the event and was prevented from attending.

“His manager contacted us and expressed that André wanted to make a donation to our scholarship program,” Lechuga said. “He was gracious in giving our organization $16,000.”

The Wildhorse scholarship program started 10 years ago. Including this year, Wildhorse will have awarded over $90,000 to Native students in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

“We hope to keep going with this,” Lechuga said. “We also look forward to continuing our powwow, so that the public here in the local area can witness and see that our culture is still alive and celebrated.”

(L-R) Head Man Dancer Stoney Cloud Dodson, 26, Fresno, Calif.; El Camino College film major Tyler Notah, 21, Redondo Beach, Calif.; and Head Woman Dancer Kiara Love Flores, 23, Pala, Calif., gather at the 27th Annual Wildhorse Pow Wow outside the North Gym at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif., Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Notah, who is Diné/Navajo, is a member of the Wildhorse Native American Association and a content creator known for his "Catching up with Cousins" series, which has more than 67,000 followers and more than 1.5 million likes on his TikTok channel @native.hustle. (Elsa Rosales | The Union)

The Wildhorse Pow Wow is one of only a few annual Native American gatherings in the South Bay. Others include the Native Gathering, formerly Native American Indian Pow Wow, at California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, and the Many Winters Gathering of Elders in San Pedro.

The event is free and open to the public, with free parking in Lot C.