Pow Wow 2006

The young adult jingle dancers at the Denver Pow Wow

We missed the Grand Entry as it occurred just at the time that we were putting Clio down for her nap.  We arrived at the Pow Wow just as the older teen and early twenty aged women were dancing.  This group wears regalia (a kind reader last year told me they are not called costumes) with metal "jingles" sown to their skirts.  It is a lively dance with intricate steps and twirls.   This contest ended in a tie.  After the dance-off produced a winner, the next category was called:  A group of male dancers and I cannot remember the particular region and style they represented (perhaps someone reading this and viewing the photo below can help me be more specific.)

After several more contests the announcer called for an "All Nations" dance.  During this dance people of all ages, all backgrounds--in regalia or not--danced together within the oval of drums.  What a great parenting/grand-parenting opportunity to teach cultural diversity.  We took Clio onto the dancing surface and she watched the other young girls and tried to copy their steps. Many of the young girls played with Clio.  One young girl, dressed in shawl-dancing regalia,  really loved Clio and danced around with us the entire 15 or 20 minutes we were on the floor.  At the end we asked if we could take a photo of her with Clio.  The anwer was yes.. 

Comments

[rc helicopter]

Impressive blog! -Arron

[mia]

dats kool

[PJ]

I've only seen two Native dances many year ago: one on a ferry going up to Alaska and one in South Dakota....both would not allow photography. Is that something of the past or depends on region? Deb: PJ, here they are quite agreeable regarding photos of a group of dancers, if it is for private use only. If you are taking a photo of an individual, the polite and proper procedure is to ask. Anyone with a video camera is asked to pay a small fee to get a permit slip to film. They just don't want people making commercial products that might be sold for profit without getting permission. I try not to infringe on their privacy and in all the years we've been going, I've only had one person refuse to have his photo taken.

[MB]

WHAT A STRIKING PHOTO! you have a terrific blog here =) Namaste, MB

[Fran aka Redondowriter]

Hey, I'd given up on you--and I delightedly see that you are back in full force. I'll do a catch-up. Love pow-wows!