Pow Wow Etiquette

There are several guidelines that you should know, as a courtesy, to the Pow Wow participants:

• PLEASE STAND QUIETLY for the Flag Song, Veterans Song and other honoring songs to show respect to all veterans. The MC will direct you when to stand. ALWAYS REMOVE YOUR HATS AND HEADGEAR.
• NEVER pick up a piece of a dancers outfit. Point out the item to the dancer and they will retrieve it.
• PHOTOGRAPHY is permitted. Listen to the MC for details. if you would like to photograph individuals, ask them for permission first and respect their decision.
• THE FIRST SEATS around the dance circle are for the dancers only.
• DO NOT WALK ACROSS THE DANCE CIRCLE!

Women's Dances

• Women's Buckskin ~ Dancers are dressed in traditional buckskin adorned with bone beads, shells and trade beads. Their style of dance is dignified, yet graceful enacting their roles as the givers and sustainers of life. Completing their regalia is a feather fan and shawl with long fringe that sways and keeps time with the drum.
• Women's Southern Cloth ~ The Southern Cloth style of dance is much like the buckskin except material of dress is cloth and decorated with ribbon work. The feather fan and shawl is also part of this regalia.
• Women's Fancy Shawl ~ Dancer's wear a cloth dress and carry a shawl with long fringe that swirls dramatically during the fast paced dance. Their footwork is intricate and spirited, sometimes looking as if they are dancing on air.
• Jingle Dress ~ A cloth dress adorned with jingles made of tin, this prayerful dance was given in a vision long ago. There are 365 jingles, representing a prayer for each day of the year.

Children's Dances

Children learn their heritage at a very young age and this is shown very strongly among Native Americans. From the time they can walk, many begin to dance on the Pow Wow circuit in the Tiny Tots Division, and continue on through their adult lives. Enjoy these competitions as you may be seeing a champion dancer in the making.

Competition Dancing

• Tiny Tots Boys and Girls - 5 years and under
• Youth Boys and Girls - Ages 6 through 10
• Jr. Boys Traditional & Fancy - Ages 11 through 16
• Jr. Girls Traditional & Fancy - Ages 11 through 16

Men's Dances

• Men's Traditional ~ Dancers wear the older style of dress using eagle feathers and bustles with bone breast plates on their leather outfits. The men's dance steps are proud and deliberate, enacting a warrior's battle or hunt for games. 
• Men's Straight ~ Southern straight dance is the formal southern dance style that traces its roots to the original formal war dance. Finger woven garters are a part of the straight dancer. There are sashes woven in many colors and worn at the waist and just below the knees.
• Men's Grass ~ Dancers wear outfits of brightly colored fringed yarn which replaces grass worn by the original Grass Dancers. These dancers were once used to trample down the grass to prepare the dance circle. The dancers use their arms, legs, shoulders and hips so the yarn will move like the prairie grass swaying in the wind.
• Men's Fancy ~ Dancers are known for their bright colorful bustles decorated with beads and feathers. Their dances are fast but with intricate dance steps that follow the changing beats of the drum and must stop at the exact moment as the drum.