Preparations are under way for the return of a summer festival that brings together Bermudians of Native American descent and the community.

The Bermuda Powwow, which is particularly dear to residents of or from St David’s who are descendants of Native American tribes, will be held at the St David’s County Cricket Club on June 7 and 8.

St David’s Islanders and Native Community, the charity that organises the biennial event, has invited dancers and drummers from the US East Coast tribal nations to this year’s festival.

They include Shinnecock drummers and members of the Mashantucket Pequot tribes.

Wampanoag singers and dancers as well as Gombeys are expected to perform at the event.

Dominique Williams, the secretary of the charity’s organising committee, said: “One can see a lot of our traditional dances and songs being played just for the crowd to learn more and interact.”

Ms Williams and other officials of the charity participated in a recent open day at the National Museum of Bermuda to promote the event.

She said: “We wanted to take part in the event at the museum just to let people know about the powwow and then also share our culture and our stories and our history.

“We also danced to show people what they can expect at the powwow.”

The powwow started in 2002 and was part of the St David’s Historical Society’s calendar of events.

The charity was then formed with the hope of reconnecting descendants of the Mashantucket Pequot, Narragansett and Wampanoag tribes with their ancestors.

Ms Williams said: “We always knew about our native ancestry then we kind of connected with some tribal members from the US East Coast.

“We learnt a lot, they taught us a lot of the dances and songs so we brought that back to St David’s.”