Amid the "pfft-POP" sound of more experienced bowmen hitting targets, 10-year-old Elwood Cuny of Martin slipped on his black archery gloves, hefted his wooden bow and, after taking brief aim, sent an arrow toward a life-size deer target 30 feet away.

Though Cuny hit a few and missed a few, it was all part of the fun Saturday at the first archery tournament at the Black Hills Pow Wow.

Cuny has been shooting a bow and arrow for about a year and thinks it's a lot of fun. But he liked the competition most.

"You can shoot arrows and hit targets," he said.

Gary Hacker, along with Mike One Star and Kevin DeCora, brought the event to the powwow this year after successfully running an archery program in Rosebud for several years.

"We always thought - because they have hand games, fashion shows - why don't we bring some tradition back?" Hacker said. "Archery was one of our mainstays, and it's something every kid can do. You don't have to be in top shape. You don't have to be a cross country runner.

DeCora said the cool thing about archery is that the action draws the kids in, and then they learn about the cultural aspects of the bow and the different but similar stories Native tribes tell about the origins of the bow.

DeCora also noted that the beginners want to shoot arrows as quickly as possible, as traditional Lakota used to do, rather than take careful slow aim, which is the style Europeans brought with them.

"I don't know if it's genetic or what," he said.

While running the archery program in Rosebud, Hacker said he noticed kids' grades seemed to improve, especially reading and math skills. He believes exposure to archery magazines and learning to keep score and figure percentages sparked their interest in reading and math.

"They found out, 'Hey, math can be fun,'" Hacker said. "It's very addictive."

Hacker said in bygone days, many traditional Native games were tied to the bow - games that while fun, improved proficiency with the tool.

"Number one, the bow was brought to our society to provide meat, and then also as a defense tool. But its primary purpose was to provide food for the people," he said.

And Native kids are like sponges when it comes to learning about heritage, according to Hacker, soaking in how the Lakota bow style only has one notch for the string, because a traditional bow doesn't have a shelf for the arrow, and the string needed to be off to the side a little bit to operate.

Hacker enjoys watching kids' eyes light up when told those kinds of stories about how the bow was used in the past, and then watching them turn around and go tell their friends.

"They're building that oral tradition again," he said.

Saturday's tournament was for primitive and traditional bows. No compound bows or those made of fiberglass were allowed.

Gold, silver and bronze medals were award to winners in several divisions for youths, adults, males and females.

The Black Hills Pow Wow continues today at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com