The thump of drumming rattled the ears of hundreds of guests attending the eighth-annual PowWow at the Santa Rosa Rancheria Saturday. Ash-smelling smoke wafted in the air after dancers blessed the ground. Dancers, cloaked in outfits washed in a rainbow of colors and decked with glittering beads and swaying feathers, roamed around in circles as drummers pounded thumping sounds that reverberated the air.

The PowWow is a chance for the Native Americans to exert their cultural identity and to showcase their pride. It's a chance for gathering family and friends to mingle and bond.

PowWow dances weren't always allowed. There was a time when Native Americans were repressed. They were forced to assimilate into the mainstream.

"The government wanted us to convert and become civilized," said Celeste McGurk, 18, a PowWow dancer from Sacramento and a UC Davis undergraduate majoring in Native American studies. "They wanted us to be like them."

McGurk, who is of Navajo descent, said at one time her grandmother wasn't allowed to speak her native language. Her grandmother was assimilated into mainstream culture at boarding school.

Today there's a resurgence of Native American pride. And Saturday's PowWow dance was a chance for some 35 tribes nationwide to express that pride through a glittering array of colorful uniforms and generations-old songs, as well as dances that took place on a grassy area near the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.

"It's a chance for the older generation to pass songs down to the next generation," said Tom Phillips, master of ceremonies. "It's a time for the young to witness the dances who will pick it up and pass it down."

That way the Native American culture will perpetuate and evolve over time, he added. The clothing may change, he said, but the dances and songs stay the same.

The dances create harmony among tribal members. There are some 550 tribes in the United States, each with a different custom.

"We're all together," said Rick Yazzie, head gourd dancer. "We're all a family no matter what tribe we are in."

The PowWow continues from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. today.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2423.