As I make my way up the dirt path, I hear the sound of drums pounding in the wind. Reaching the origin of the music, I look within the boundaries of the arena and am overwhelmed by what I see.
March 1995
As I make my way up the dirt path, I hear the sound of drums pounding in the wind. Reaching the origin of the music, I look within the boundaries of the arena and am overwhelmed by what I see.
Native American people draped in brightly colored regalia dance around to the sounds of voices and drums. This shows the devotion to their culture. Families reunite and camp out in tepees to catch up on each others lives while eating infamous Indian Tacos.
The pow wow (pau wau) at one point meant a medicine man or a spiritual leader. The pow wows of today, however, are times to gather, sing, play music, unite with other tribes, and most of all, to dance.
All of the regalia is made by each individual and differs from person to person. The dances determine which regalia is to be worn. The Jingle Dress dance is a full-length dress covered in hundreds of ornamental jingles, most made from the top of snuff cans. In another dance, the Men's Fancy, cloth is covered in feathers with a double bustle on the back and a fur-and-feather headdress is worn. Both of these dances were at one time a part of healing rituals, spiritual ceremonies, preparation for war and celebrations of victories.
Pow wows span all areas of the United States and occur throughout the year. San Carlos Reservation in Arizona celebrated their first Apache pow wow in February, while the Eagle Butte Reservation in South Dakota put on a ceremony for Jimmy Carter and Habitat for Humanity last summer.
As the weekend came and went it is time to pack up my camping gear and make my way back down the hill. The path is now worn with tire tracks and the sound of drums fading in the distance. All I have now are the memories and the photographs that brought me back to the celebrations of the Native American culture.