JUNE POWWOW SET FOR COLLEGE.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - When she was 30, Corina Roberts developed an intense interest in American-Indian culture that gave her a new direction and eventually helped enrich the lives of hundreds of others.

"It's changed my life completely," said the Simi Valley woman, who is organizing the Children of Many Colors Powwow June 16-18 at Moorpark College through the nonprofit Redbird Foundation. She established the foundation in 1994 to encourage appreciation of American-Indian culture and promote tolerance and respect.

The powwows the group has held at Moorpark College and Castaic Lake over the years have attracted tens of thousands of people for dancing, trading of traditional arts and crafts and socializing.

Participants say they are akin to family reunions for many American Indians who come from different parts of the country.

"Being involved in the Native American community has given me some wonderful friends and a much broader respect and understanding for the people who were first here," said Roberts, who is part Cherokee and Osage, and was one of the speakers in November at the Native American Women in the Arts Education and Leadership Conference in Oklahoma.

"There is a huge native community out here," she said. "I was amazed. When I started, people came out of the woodwork."

Michael Reifel, a San Carlos Apache who will be the master of ceremonies at the powwow, said some people believe the roots of such gatherings are in ceremonies of old. Others say powwows began in the 1950s when tens of thousands of Indians left the reservations and sought out friends after they moved to cities.

Powwows are sometimes referred to as intertribal dancing, and some tribes have adopted dances from other tribes so they can come together as a culture.

"There is something universal about the drums," Reifel said. "Non-Indian people who have never come to a powwow are drawn to the dance area."

He called Roberts a "wonderful emissary and ambassador" for the work she has done through the Redbird Foundation.

The first Children of Many Colors Powwow in 1994 was part of an annual jamboree sponsored by the Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program in Moorpark. But the event has been sporadic.

Roberts said one reason the powwow hasn't been held every year is the commitment of money and time. The 1997 powwow, the last one to be held at Moorpark College, drew about 10,000 people and cost about $12,000, but netted only $1,000, organizers said. The most recent powwow organized by Redbird was at Castaic Lake in 2004.

"So many people kept asking me to do another one," she said. "What amazes me is how many remember the last powwows and have e-mailed saying they are grateful we are having another one. It warms my heart."

She estimated that about 20 percent of those attending will be American Indian, while another 40 percent will be people who have been to powwows before and enjoyed them.

eric.leach(at)dailynews.com

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IF YOU GO:The Children of Many Colors Powwow runs June 16 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., June 17 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and June 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Moorpark College, 7075 Campus Road. Although admission is free, a donation of $2 per vehicle is requested. For more information, contact Corina Roberts at [phone] or go to www.redbirdsvision.org.

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Redbird Foundation founder Corina Roberts, above, arranges items in the `Why We Dance' display at the Simi Valley Library. The display features items from powwows and American Indian culture. Her group is sponsoring a powwow in June at Moorpark College. Below, pottery from Acoma and Jemez pueblos is on display.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

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IF YOU GO (see text)