The Future
of Powwow Dancing
in Native America
A short research paper
K. J. Joyner
The Future of Powwow Dancing in Native America
Joyner, K. J.
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Table of Contents
Outline
The Future of Powwow Dancing in Native America
List of Consulted Resources
About this Document
The Future of
Powwow Dancing
in Native America
Outline
THESIS: What was thought to be a disappearing culture has been revived through a revolution called powwow, and it seems to be lasting into the future.
I. The Beginning
A. Native American dance practices were outlawed.
1. Dances were driven underground or were practiced in secret.
2. The first powwows held upon government bans being lifted.
B. Two types of powwows.
1. Traditional.
2. Competition.
II. Different types of dance and regalia
A. Regalia as a major part of dance.
1. Various outfits
2. Regalia reflects dance or the dancer
B. Various dance styles.
1. Men and women’s dances.
2. Women taking over.
III. Values Make A Comeback
A. Social interaction enhances social skills.
1. Sharing of cultural ways.
2. Children step into the act.
B. The Revolution
1. Media and churches cash in.
2. Old ways remembered in new expressions.
Back to Table of Contents
The Future of
Powwow Dancing
in Native America
When photographer Edward Curtis witnessed the Peigan Sun Dance in 1900, he thought that he had seen a disappearing legacy (Ponce). After all, Native Americans still faced persecution as their dance ceremonies were outlawed in the United States and Canada. Dance was an integral part of Native American life (Young); sharing and giving, fundamental Native values, were reinforced through summer gatherings, ceremonial and social dances. Without dance, it seemed these ways were going to die. In the early 1930's and 50's when first the United States and then Canada removed their bans on Native American practice, an explosion of renewed tradition resulted in powwows, or Native American gathers (Sexsmith-Green). Over fifty years later, the face of powwow dancing has changed dramatically and keeps moving forward.
There are two types of powwows; traditional and competition. At a traditional powwow, people come just to dance, socialize, and have a good time (Neel). Competition powwows could be viewed as the Native American Olympics. Dancers come to compete against one another in contests based on different dance styles. It is said that a good dancer is marked by his or her ability to mix traditional aspects into the dance with their unique perspective and individuality (Young). The winners walk away with prize money and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Some people consider their regalia, or special clothing the dancers wear, to be an intricate part of the dance. Each outfit is unique, handmade and usually reflects that dancer’s heritage or personal journey through life. There are many different styles, and many of the dances have regalia that is considered to be traditional garb (Perales). For example, the butterfly dancers, or fancy shawl dancers, wear a bright and colorful dress with shawl to imitate the colors of a butterfly’s wings. Grass dancers wear large amounts of fringe representing the long, uncut blades of grass. The feathered bustles of the male fancy dancers complement the rest of their regalia, which is decorated with beadwork and eye-catching color schemes. In her dress covered in jingles traditionally made from snuff caps, the jingle dancer carries her shawl on one arm. These outfits are a far cry from the early days when men wore just a breechcloth and moccasins (Sexsmith-Green).
More changes extend into the dances, which can be as intricate as the clothing the dancers wear (Kirn 32). On a typical powwow day, just before Grand Entry when all the dancers line up to enter the dance ring and begin the festivities, the gourd dance is performed to cleanse the arena. For some tribes, the gourd dance is a social dance in which anyone can participate much like the stomp dance of the Southern Woodland Indians. The Southwest Plains Indians, nonetheless, remember when the gourd dance was a strict society dance for ceremonies only. It belonged to the warrior society, which is to say only warriors danced it. The sentiment that this dance brings in the spirit of the powwow because the warriors protect the nations (Williams) remains the same, but restrictions on who participates have relaxed.
Men’s Traditional dance was once performed after hunts or battle as a celebration. The moves still echo those primitive times as the men crouch low to imitate hunting or stalking an enemy. Grass dancing, originally for flattening grass for other dancers, is now just show and fun while spectators admire the skill it takes to lower oneself to the ground and lift up again without use of the arms.
One of the biggest changes is the participation of the women. Depending on the tribe, the women had different ways of dancing. Some only stood at the edge of the dance arena, dancing in place, or did not dance at all. The Cherokee had a traditional woman’s dance that consisted of a graceful walk-step clockwise around the dance ring. Those traditional ways have survived, but since then women have stepped forward. For example, there is the butterfly dance. Based on men’s war dances, this dance was created to attract tourists. Now it is everywhere as the dancers appear to revel in their freedom as the butterfly does when first released from its cocoon (Roberts).
Another, more dramatic move in this revolution started with the jingle dance, borne from a vision and a young girl’s miraculous recovery from illness. Originally, it was an Ojibwe medicine dance. Now, it is danced by women of all tribal affiliations (Perales).
The women are also not keeping to what some consider to be their side of the gender divide. The hoop dance, formerly danced exclusively by men, is now danced by women. For world champion Roberta Saddleback, it is more than a dance she does in competition powwows. It is a family tradition (Sexsmith, 13). Perhaps as sexual differentiations fade and more women practice dances once reserved for men or create new traditions, gender may again one day no longer matter.
The fundamental value of sharing has also been revived. A century ago, it was not unknown for tribes to barter with each other and share dances and ceremonies. Traditional values are not stagnant, and some feel it is important to recognize that current innovations and shared styles are, in fact, authentic due to the need to express oneself in the dance world (Young). Just as the Southern Women’s Traditional dance is performed in Minnesota powwows, the Comanche War Dance is seen in south Florida. With a consistent history of cultural trade offs, more inter-tribal blending is bound to happen.
American, mainstream culture also has been creeping in, such as with the dancer who wears plastic hair barrettes or the fancy dancer who sported pink feathers because he was like “the Energizer Bunny,” in that he keeps “going and going.” (Stauffer) There was even a final dance call at a Red Bank powwow in whi
ch the women were called into the dance ring for a Special: The Macarena, a popular Latin American pop song (Neel).
This fever of Native dance is spreading beyond the powwow, such as with an opera that was based on the Sun Dance (An Operatic Skeleton) and anti-drug programs that use dance to teach Native American youth the value of sobriety. The media is sure to continue to cash in as it already has through films like Powwow Highway, produced by Warner Brothers and Handmade Films and released in 1989 (Ebert).
Alaskan churches have also gotten involved by hosting powwows in order to spread their ministry (Huckins 66-69). Tribes that have almost completely lost their traditional ways are holding powwows in an effort to bring their youth and culture back home. In some parts of the country, more traditional gathers are being revived as Natives remember dances to honor deceased relatives, coax down the rain, and encourage corn to grow. The young take weekend trips away from the cities, seeking to understand the meanings of the dances and the stories behind them (Johnston).
Dance has moved from a major part of Native American culture to being the mainstay that keeps it alive. Children are practically growing up in powwows. Many are in the ring dancing even as they are learning to walk. It is considered teaching a child the “Indian Way” when he or she is taken to traditional powwows where they can learn social skills, dance and tradition by example (Roberts).
Likewise, dance is still regarded as a form of prayer (Alfonso). Some say that their dance and regalia are their way of expressing their culture and who they are. It reaffirms their tribal and family ties and