CHARLESTOWN — Ella Sekatau will start tomorrow early, mixing corn with lima beans and seasonings to make enough savory succotash to serve 500. She aims to finish her work by 10 a.m.

It’s a tradition Sekatau, 79, says she carries on every year in preparation for the Narragansett Indian tribe’s annual powwow and Green Corn Thanksgiving.

The gathering, held on tribal land deep in the Charlestown woods off Route 2, celebrates the ripening of the corn and is one of the oldest of its kind in the region. It is also the largest and most important of 13 thanksgiving celebrations held annually by the tribe, Sekatau says.

This year’s festivities, beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow and Sunday and lasting until sundown, will mark the tribe’s 332nd recorded annual August Meeting. The event draws Native Americans from across the country, Mexico and Central America, says Sekatau, the Narragansetts’ ethno-historian.

It is an opportunity for friends, neighbors and others to meet once a year for traditional dancing, food, and music and to talk about issues affecting the Narragansetts and other tribes, Sekatau says.

Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas has invited all Rhode Islanders to share in the celebrations.

The grand entry, led by Thomas and other tribal leaders, will take place at 1 p.m. each day to the beat of pounding drums and chanting. Medicine Man Lloyd Wilcox will cleanse the sacred grounds tomorrow, followed by a peace pipe ceremony for representatives from all the tribes in attendance.

Social dances and drumming will take place both days. Children’s dance competitions will be held throughout the weekend, with men and women facing off for traditional and fancy dances on Sunday.

Foods such as Sekatau’s succotash, quahog chowder, corn on the cob and jonnycakes will be for sale from noon until sundown. Art and crafts booths will be on display.

The Narragansett Indian Church board welcomes anyone interested to attend nondenominational services at 9:30 and 11 a.m.

All activities will take place on the Narragansett Indian Church grounds, off Route 2 just north of Route 1. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children.

kmulvane@projo.com