Powwow

Everyone can take part – tourists and sightseers included. You don’t need to be in regalia; you can dance in your street clothes. There are no spectators at a powwow – everyone is considered a participant, even if all you do is lend your presence.

Everyone has a place in the circle of people. When the Master of Ceremonies calls “intertribal” dance, everyone can take part. Listen carefully to the announcer so you know what is happening. Announcers will request silence, ask people to stand, remove hats, and not take pictures at certain times during the powwow.

Do not photograph participants close up without asking permission. Introduce yourself and get to know that person a little. Listen to the announcer for cues about when it is appropriate to take a photograph. Remember, it is impolite to bother the performers or those preparing to sing and dance.

Do not allow your children to run through or play in the dance arena. As explained before, the circle is sacred, and allowing this is very disrespectful.

Many people mark their sitting places with blankets or personal items. Do not remove items or sit in someone else’s spot.

Do not touch a dancer’s regalia or pick up feathers that may have dropped on the floor; everything stops until the feather has been properly returned to its owner.

Alcohol and drugs are not allowed on the powwow grounds.

Smoking is not allowed on the college campuses.

Everyone should always stand and remove caps and hats during the Grand Entry, Flag Songs and Invocations.

Some say the Grand Entry originates from old-time victory dances signifying the war party’s victorious return home. The warriors would line up and dance throughout the village while uncles and grandfathers announced the good deeds the warriors performed. Also honored were the young warriors. Their mothers, aunts, wives, or sweethearts, who danced in their honor of them, followed them.

Others say the Grand Entry is a recent adaptation of the ancient traditional celebrations and gatherings. In the Great Lakes region, indigenous ceremonies such as the Big Drum Societies, Grand Medicine Lodge, Longhouse Ceremonies, or other traditional gatherings never had Grand Entries. But, Indian people were influenced by one another and have adapted and changed to meet their needs. Another possibility or origin derives from rodeos and Wild West Shows.

While some contend the Grand Entry is not an ancient tradition, it still demonstrates long-standing cultural values – tradition, respect for elders, and honor to veterans. Whatever the origin, the Grand Entry begins all powwows today.

The eagle staff is the first to make the entrance in the circle, followed by the American, state, tribal, and POW flags. Then the titleholders from tribal pageants enter. Other invited dignitaries are next, followed by the men: traditional dancers are first, followed by grass dancers, then fancy dancers.

Women are next. Traditional dancers are first, followed by jingle dress dancers and fancy shawl dancers. They are followed by teen boys, teen girls, junior boys, then junior girls in the same order as the adults. The last to enter the dance floor are the little boys and girls, usually referred to as “tiny tots.”

The dancers dance “sunwise” (clockwise) around the arena, showing they are dressed and ready to dance, showing off their steps and tribal regalia (please note that “costume” is considered derogatory by many), and letting those who watch know who they are and what they can do.

When the Grand Entry song ends, a flag song and veterans’ song are followed by an invocation blessing the gathering. Then the eagle staff is tied to the pole in the center of the arena or brought to the announcer’s stand. Originally, the U.S. flag was raised to show that the people gathered under it were not enemies of the United States. During the Indian Wars, the federal government required Indian gatherings to display the U.S. flag to show they were peacefully assembled so the U.S. military would not attack.

The drum is used to accompany most dances. The legend continues with each new generation. Drums once were living beings – the tree and the deer – that gave up their lives to contribute to our happiness and life. The materials pay homage to the life forces: animal hides, wood, clay and water. In some traditions, the drum symbolizes the heartbeat of the land, and in others, the powerful medicine of thunder. Whatever the legend, each drum has a spirit inside, and the drummer must move these spirits to come out for the dancers.

The drum is more than just a musical instrument to those who play it. Some drum groups have had their drums blessed and named at ceremonies. The drum is regarded as sacred with its own spirit. Gifts are made to the drum, and some drums even have their own sacred medicine pipes.

Regardless of the tradition, the drum must always be treated with respect as a sacred entity. Nothing is ever set on a drum, nor does anyone reach across it. Many drums even have their own song, which is frequently sung as a warm-up at the beginning of the powwow. The beat of the drum is a heartbeat starting slowly and then beating more quickly as the singers get further into the song. The drumsticks connect the singers to the power of the drum as they sing.

The drumming is judged in contests by the rhythm of the song. Usually the drum group is judged only on the songs they sing for the dancing contests and on intertribal songs. There are different kinds of rhythms and drumbeats played, and each type of song requires a different one. The drumbeats must be in perfect time, and each player must be in perfect unison.

The basic drumbeats include the roll, a very fast drumbeat; the parade beat, a slow steady processional beat; the Omaha beat, the most frequently used dance beat; and the social dance beat, which is a strongly accentuated beat and ranges from medium to fast. The term “drum” can also refer to the drum group itself.

Different types of songs are sung for different events: grand entry, dance categories, honoring ceremonies. Songs are made for a variety of reasons: songs of happiness, songs of thanks, or songs of sadness. Although they differ in tempo, words, and emotion, powwow songs follow a similar structure. Many of the songs have been passed down from generation to generation, having never been written down. The songs help people remember their ancestors and traditions.

The lead singer selects the song to be sung. He may hit the drum once to let the dancers and the other singers know the song is about to begin. The lead singer sings a phrase or a tune called the “lead” or “push up.” The rest of the group repeats the lead (this is called a “second”). Then all the singers sing the melody called a “push up.” If the announcer asks a drum for four push-ups, they will sing the grouping of lead, second, first part and second part four times.

There are three kinds of songs: all words, all melody (these songs are sung with vocables, syllables without meaning used to carry the melody), and those with vocables for the lead, second, and first parts, and words for the second part.

Many times at the end of the second push-up, four or five slow “honor beats” or “accent beats” are heard from the drum. It is said that at one time they represented gunshots. Other stories say the four beats represent the four directions, and the fifth is to Mother Earth and the Great Spirit. The honor or accent beats are a signal to the dancers and singers that another push-up is about to begin or the song is about to end.

As previously mentioned, there are songs for all occasions – honor songs, veteran songs, war party
songs – but many of the pre-reservation songs have been put aside in favor of the flood of new songs
being composed. Some singing groups only sing their own songs; others borrow songs and perform
their own. The songs are not written down but are tape-recorded or kept by a keeper of songs –
someone who has a great talent for remembering songs, their stories, when and why they are sung
and who can sing them. Singers and dancers learn from these recordings and people.

Singers, unlike pop stars, are not judged by the sweetness of their voices. In the Northern Plains,
the higher parts of the song are sung falsetto, and the melody gains energy and rhythm as the voice
descends. The sound it produces at the back of an open mouth and throat, with the volume and quality
of the voice, depends largely on well-developed abdominal muscles. Singers are judged on range,
volume, strength, and expressive quality of their voices and the way they blend with the rest of the
group.

Women sing an octave higher than the men and may sometimes join in the later part of each
rendition. Women also may “trill” at special places in the song to indicate deep feelings such as joy or
appreciation of the song.

Men's Fancy

Fancy dancers are easily recognizable by their energetic tempo and colorful, distinct outfits, which feature very large, vividly colored double bustles worn on the dancer’s back. Smaller bustles adorn the arms. Brightly colored beadwork and accessories are color-coordinated with the color of the bustles.

The fancy dancer is a recent addition to the contemporary warrior of today. The fancy dancer has agility, speed, and determination. The dance originated as a competitive dance style born of the Wild West shows, where the more colorful and agile the dancer, the better the chance of prestige and winning. Yet the fancy dance still epitomizes the warrior who is committed to protecting his people, tribe, and family.

Men's Grass

In the days of our ancestors, the legend tells of a young man who longed to dance. Although he was lame in one foot, he walked out onto the prairie. There he came upon a small hill, which he climbed to pray for guidance. He looked down the prairie and saw long prairie grass swaying in the wind. This, he knew, was the answer to his prayer. He would adorn himself with the sweet grass and imitate its graceful swaying motion.

Another story says the elders would ask young men to lay down the tall grasses to prepare a clearing for their ceremonies and for the other dancers. Many wore tufts of sweet grass in their belts. Today, men adorn themselves with strands of colorful yarn, leather, fabric, fringe, or ribbon, to represent the grass; the motion of the dance flows like the rippling prairie grass.

Women's Traditional

In a stately manner, women move slowly about the circle (the Plains traditional woman dancer most often stays in one place), rhythmically dipping and swaying to the beat of the drum. The traditional deerskin or trade cloth dresses are often heavy and elaborately decorated with bead and quill work.

The dresses often are adorned with elk ivory or cowrie shells, or simply with ribbon. A traditional An Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa) dress can be black/red velvet decorated with detailed and intricate floral design beadwork and buckskin fringe.

Women's Jingle

The woman’s jingle dress has its own legend of being “the healing dress.” The Anishinaabe say an old man on his deathbed dreamed of his daughter clothed in a dress, the likes of which he had never seen, a dress with cones (jingles) sewn around the cloth (365 cones – a prayer for each day of the year). The spirits told him how to make the cones (originally made from deer hooves; later, rabbit bones were used until the coming of tobacco lids). Then he dreamed of his daughter and three of her friends dancing in those dresses. After having this vision, he recovered, and recalling the sight and sound of the cones, he taught his daughter how to make those special dresses.

In the old man’s vision, the spirits also told him that when his daughter danced she was not to lift her feet far from the ground, dance backwards, or turn around. She also was not to pass another jingle dress dancer while dancing in the circle. In addition, the jingle dress dancer had certain responsibilities to be a role model. If you listen closely, you can hear the tinkling of the cones and their calming effect.

Women's Fancy

The fancy shawl dance is a fairly new addition to the competitive style of dance at the powwow. Prior to the turn of the century, women performed the fancy dance, or “butterfly dance,” in their traditional regalia, with blankets and buffalo robes. Then it is said that in the 1930s or 1940s, young girls would show off their colorful shawls by doing fancy footwork at the powwow, imitating the butterfly and its graceful movements.

The dance itself is very similar to the men’s fancy dance, but with more grace. The footwork is definitely more the element of the fancy shawl dance. The dancer must follow the beat of the drum, then stop with both feet on the ground, on the last beat of the drum.

The fancy shawl regalia consists of knee-length dresses, beaded moccasins with matching leggings, a fancy shawl, beaded jewelry, hair ties, and barrettes usually adorned with an eagle plume. The outfits are flashy and colorful.