I’ll Never Forget This… 🪶 | Gathering of Nations 2026

Ya’at’ééh! Aaron Tsosie here — the person behind the camera 🎥 Welcome to Saturday at Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 2026 (Part 1) 🪶 This one means a lot to me. I’ve said it before, but this really is my life’s work — documenting full events and sharing our culture with people all over the world. And this year’s Gathering of Nations was a huge milestone. It was my first time attending, and at the same time, it’s being called “The Last Dance.” For those who may not know, Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico is widely recognized as the largest pow wow in North America, bringing together 2,000+ dancers, hundreds of singers, and thousands of spectators from across Turtle Island. Alongside the pow wow are major events like Miss Indian World, Stage 49, the horse parade, and the Indian Traders Market — it’s more than just a pow wow, it’s a full cultural gathering. On this Saturday alone, I captured just over 19 hours of footage — starting minutes before 10am and filming all the way until about 4:25am. There are a few pauses here and there, but for the most part, this is the full experience as it happened. Because of YouTube’s 12-hour upload limit, this is one of those rare times where I had to split the video into two parts. At the beginning of this video, you’ll see a portion of my TikTok livestream — walking into the grounds, answering questions, and making my way inside before switching over to my main camera during Bird Dancing. I decided to leave that in as part of the experience. It’s not something I usually do, but as I’ve been slowly showing more of myself in these videos, I felt like it added something real — like you’re walking in with me. Once inside the coliseum — I was still feeling it from the day before. I had been working, filming, and even sleeping in my car, so it took a little time to warm up. I always try to pace myself, stay grounded, and take care of myself when I can — balancing sleep, food, and long hours behind the camera. Huge shoutout to my friend Sooya Davis for coming through with dinner (you’ll see him later in the video). Im so thankful our traveling community watches over me and helps me in small ways like getting me dinner while im working. I also captured hundreds of photos throughout the event, but I’ve been moving nonstop lately — one event after another — so I haven’t had the chance to fully work through them yet. Still doing my best to find that balance between work and life while keeping everything moving forward. These videos take time, but they’re worth it. I’m proud to say I covered Gathering of Nations and added it to my 2026 portfolio. This is just Part 1 — Part 2 will carry us through the rest of the night. Thank you for watching and supporting Indigenous Event Recordings 🪶 Ahe’hee’! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 📢 Support My Work 🎯 Help me keep documenting Indigenous events — send a tip via Venmo: @imaarontoasty 💌 Want to support long-term? Consider joining my future Patreon for early access & behind-the-scenes content (coming at 10k subscribers!) 📸 Follow My Journey 🎥 Subscribe for more Indigenous event coverage:    / @indigenouseventrecordings   📷 Best photos:   / indigenouseventrecordings   🎶 Short clips & livestreams: https://www.tiktok.com/@indigenouseve... 📖 Updates & highlights: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... 📩 Business Inquiries For collaborations or media inquiries, email: [email protected] 📄 Content Use Feel free to reuse my content — just credit and tag me!