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14 August 2007

American Indian Regalia Dazzles at National Powwow

Dancing, singing and drumming thrill participants and spectators

 

Lauren Frank (Arikara/Blackfeet/Cree) of North Dakota performs the Women's Jingle Dance at the 2007 National Powwow in Washington. Her dress is decorated with hundreds of tiny metal cones that jingle as she moves. Frank also specializes in the Women's Fancy Shawl Dance, another popular dance on the powwow circuit. (Photo courtesy of National Museum of the American Indian)

Lauren Frank does the Women's Jingle Dance at the National Powwow in Washington (National Museum of the American Indian)

By Louise Fenner
Staff Writer

Washington -- Eyes and ears barely can take in all the colors and the swirling fringe, the singing and drumbeats that fill the air during the grand entry at the National Powwow in Washington.

Men, women and children from more than 250 American Indian tribes are gathered in a large arena to celebrate their culture and honor their military veterans.  They are led by tribal dignitaries holding staffs decorated with eagle feathers and color guards carrying tribal banners and flags of the United States and Canada. (See “National Powwow Honors American Indian Cultural Traditions.”)

In keeping with tradition, a grand entry was held each day of the National Powwow (August 10-12, 2007), with nearly 500 dancers participating.  The National Powwow is a biennial event and one of dozens of gatherings held throughout North America each summer.

Veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq, many marching in uniform, were special guests of honor.  Among them was a group of former code-talkers, American Indian Marines who, during World War II, transmitted tactical messages in codes based on their native languages.  “Indians continue to volunteer and serve in record numbers,” noted announcer Don Patterson.

“We come together as one great tribal nation in the powwow circle,” said Patterson, a member of the Tonkawa and Apache tribes from Oklahoma, as the grand entry began.

For American Indians, powwows are social gatherings but also much more. They honor past generations and help transmit cultural values to the young.

“A powwow is symbolic of Native American people because it shows others that we’re still alive, we’re still going strong and we’re still involved in our culture and the ways of our ancestors,” said Megan Young, 21, a member of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama and the new Miss Indian World.  

Young said she wants to “promote a good image for Native American people and help to dispel some of the stereotypes about us.” Not all Native Americans live on a reservation or suffer from alcoholism and other problems, Young said. “We have many educated Native American peoples who are serving in politics, in law, in medicine.”

 

Wylie Bearstail, a member of the Hidatsa/Arikara tribes of North Dakota and a performer with the Northern Plains Dancers, demonstrates the traditional Grass Dance at the National Museum of the American Indian. Bearstail was in Washington to participate in the National Powwow, Aug. 10-12, 2007. (Ken White/State Dept.)

Wylie Bearstail performs a traditional Grass Dance at the National Museum of the American Indian (Ken White/State Dept.)

Russell Young Bird (Arikara/Hidatsa) from North Dakota, who competed in the drum category, said he has been dancing since he could walk. He taught dancing at an elementary school where he told the children “not to be scared. This is part of you. Not nobody else. Nobody can tell you that you did it wrong.”

Among the singers and drummers at the National Powwow were High Noon (Cree) from Saskatchewan, Canada; Battle River (Anishinabe) from Minnesota; and Southern Thunder (Pawnee) from Oklahoma -- all well known on the powwow circuit. 

The flag bearers included the Ira Hayes Color Guard (Pima/Maricopa) from Arizona, named in honor of the Pima Indian who participated in the flag-raising at Iwo Jima in 1945. Hayes was one of only five members of his 45-member platoon to survive the battle.

During the grand entry, women danced in “jingle dresses” covered with hundreds of tiny metal cones, or in buckskin dresses edged with long fringe that swayed as they moved. Some showed off the intricate footwork, spins and arm motions of the Women’s Fancy Shawl dance.

Many of the male dancers did the Grass Dance, wearing outfits decorated with long strands of ribbon or fabric and two tufts of yarn attached to headpieces that twirled and rocked as the dancers moved to the drumbeat. The most spectacular were the Men’s Fancy Dancers, who each wore two colorful eagle feather bustles on the upper and lower back.  The dance circle was awhirl with color as each dancer spun and jumped to show off his athletic skills.

In other exhibitions – and later in competition -- men and women elders showed off stately traditional dances.  For some spectators, the highlight of the grand entry might have been the “Tiny Tots” exhibition featuring the smallest dancers -- including one toddler with a feather bustle who just held onto his baby bottle and stared at the spinning colors around him.

Following the grand entry, both participants and spectators were invited to join the dance circle for an intertribal dance. Non-Native visitors in shorts and sandals seemed awestruck at the opportunity to walk and dance alongside men and women in full tribal regalia.

“Surely we have to be one of the most beautiful races on the face of this earth!” Patterson said, and at that moment, it is safe to say, everyone agreed.

Additional information is available on the Web site of the National Museum of the American Indian.

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