Short History of the Native American Pow Wow Description of Dances and Dance Regalia Guidelines for Visitors to Southern Pow Wows Assorted Vocabulary of Pow Wow Dress and Ritual Digital Bibliography of Web and Print Resources

Dancing is an extremely important part of Native American life. A Native American pow wow is made up of many dances, both competitive and non-competitive. The following is a brief description of the different styles of dance and the regalia worn for each one. These are only descriptions. Every dancer has his or her own particular style, and outfits vary from different nations. The Grand Entry begins all pow wows. It is the important first song, bringing all the dancers into the arena. The dancers enter in a particular order, often as follows: Flag bearers first, then Head dancers, veterans, royalty, men’s Northern Traditional, Southern Traditional, Women’s Northern, Women’s Southern, Grass dancers, Jingle, Men’s Fancy, Women’s fancy shawl, and, finally, the children. Tiffany Van de Wall Copyright © 2004 by University of North Texas. All rights reserved. Revised: 28 Mar 2004 2:44:59 -0500