Native American Pow Wow

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

The following is a list of items, words, and terms that are unique to pow wows.

Bandoliers:

Bandoliers are long strings of bone hairpipe and beads that are worn on the body from the shoulder across the chest to the opposite hip. Most dancers (straight and traditional) wear one or two. There are many different styles of bandoliers available and materials can vary slightly. Some may have mescal beans or rifle casings instead of bone hairpipe.

Beadwork:

Beadwork is the art of putting beads on practically anything and is an age-old tradition that began with wampum beads made from conch shells before the arrival of Columbus. When traders arrived in the Americas, they brought with them beautiful glass beads from France, Italy, and Bohemia (Czech Republic) to trade with the natives. Native Americans learned how to apply these very small beads to their possessions. This task has evolved into an art form.

Breastplate:

The breastplate is an assortment of thin, hollowed out bones that are strung together in rows and hung from the neck for protection. Originally they were shorter but today often reach a dancer’s waist or knees. Over time they have become more decorative than anything else. Today, breastplates are part of several dance styles.

Bustle:

Bustles are arrangements of feathers that are worn on the body. Originally, only only a few honored dancers wore bustles. As time progressed, they became part of the Traditional and Fancy Dance outfits. Fancy dancers can use turkey, hawk, and eagle feathers to make the twin bustles they wear. If they are making their bustles in the “Oklahoma” style (Cherokee), multi-colored hackle feathers are attached to the main feathers to produce the rows of colors. Traditionals almost always use eagle feathers to make bustles. An all-tail feather bustle is very sought after, but mixtures of tail and wing and all-wing are still very beautiful. Bustles can be decorated with horsehair, angora fur, eagle fluffs, and white leather spots.

Clackers:

Clackers, or simply “toes,” are sets of deer toes that have been sewn onto a band of leather and tied around the ankles or legs. These can be used instead of bells and produce a nice sounding rattle.

Contesting:

“Contesting” is the practice of competing for prizes and recognition against other dancers. Depending on the pow wow and the category, prizes may reach as high as $1500 for first place. Every category is determined by dance style (like straight or fancy) and age. Age grouping typically is tiny tots, 0-5; little boys/girls, 5-12; junior boys/girls, 12-16; senior, 16+. Contesting began sometime around 1920 and is largely responsible for the success of the modern pow wow.

Dance Staff:

A dance staff is a long “stick” held in one hand by many dancers as they dance. It may be decorated with beadwork, feathers, and colored tape and often has objects attached to it, such as an eagle’s foot or head, or a bull’s horn or antlers. The decoration of the staff is left entirely up to the dancer. The staff is related in history to the coup stick, a staff carried into battle by many tribes. It was considered a greater honor to be able to strike an enemy with a coup stick and return safely than to kill him.

Drop:

A drop is part of the regalia of the straight dance that hangs down the back and touches the floor. Depending on the tribe, it can be made of an otter hide or from several brass or German silver conchos strung together. The Osage use the otter drop because they believe that water animals, such as the otter, would give them protection. Therefore, the head of the otter is left on so that he might watch over the dancer’s back.

Fans:

In the pow wow sense, a fan is a group of feathers a person can use to fan himself or herself with. There are several different varieties including flat fan, wing fan, and loose fan. A flat fan usually made from the tail feathers of an eagle. A wing fan is made from either the entire wing outside of the knuckle, or of a few wing feathers. A loose fan is made from an assortment of eagle, hawk, or macaw feathers that are bound loosely on a beaded base.

Garters:

Fingerwoven garters are a part of the Straight Dancer. They are sashes that are woven in many different colors and patterns to match the person’s outfit and worn at the waist and just below the knees.

Grand Entry:

The Grand Entry is the first dance of a pow wow used to bring in the dancers. It is lead by the color guard, made up of veterans, who carry in the American flag and others that are present (eagle staff, state flag, Canadian, Mexican flag). It is then followed by the Head Man and Lady, followed by the Princesses and then the other dance styles by category. The Grand Entry goes around the circle and loops until everyone is in the arena and then stops for the Flag Song.

Intertribals:

Intertribal refers to dances or songs that belong to no one particular tribe. Most intertribal songs do not have words sung in them but instead have “vocables”. Intertribal dances have become very popular in this century because they draw larger crowds, since everyone is invited.

Lazy Stitch:

Lazy Stitch is the primary method of applying beads to a large area in a short amount of time. The most common sizes of beads used are 11/0 to 13/0, which are very small to people new to beadwork. The beads are attached by sewing rows of about 7 to 10 beads on at a time so that each row is placed next to a row that is identical to it. These rows make up larger rows that are stacked on top of each other. The rows resemble and endless sea of lumps. It is rare to see very large pieces beaded however; those that are are usually greatly admired.

Loom Stitch:

Loom Beadwork gets its name from the loom that is used to make it. Loom beadwork produces very uniform beadwork that can easily be made in strips. It is common to see belts made in this way.

Moccasins:

Moccasins are the traditional footwear of many Native American tribes. Although in the past there were many styles, the predominant style today is that of the Plains tribes, because is has a hard sole that stands up to the rigors of several months of hard dancing. Moccasins can be beaded or quilled and sometimes left plain.

Pendleton:

Pendleton is a brand name of wool blanket made by Pendleton Woolen Mills that is often used in covering dancer’s benches and as giveaway items. Pendletons range in size from crib blankets to Queen size and come in several beautiful designs. These blankets are expensive (about $100 for the average full blanket) and seen as a symbol of affluence.

Peyote Stitch:

Peyote stitch is often called round stitch or gourd stitch. It derives these names because it was originally used to bead the round gourd rattles of the Peyote ceremony in the Native American Church. It is a difficult stitch to master and uses very small beads. The beads can range in size from 13/0 to 22/0. It is beaded one bead at a time, each bead being placed in between two others.

Push:

A “push,” is a name given to one complete verse in a song. It begins with the lead, second, verse, honor beats, and second refrain. A song usually consists of four “pushes,” each being identical. Sometimes, in the interest of time, an emcee will limit the number of pushes in a song.

Ribbonwork:

Ribbonwork is the art of sewing together several ribbons together to make a pattern. Ribbonwork can be worn on any style but it is especially important to Southern Straight Dance and Southern Cloth. The ribbons that are used are made of satin or taffeta and are creased, folded, and sewn together. The Osage and Ponca perfected this art.

Roach:

A roach, in the pow wow sense, is a type of headdress made from tied porcupine and deer hair. Usually there are several rows of each hair tied onto a woven base so that the hairs will stand upright and move gracefully with the movement of the dancer. The deer hair is placed outside of the longer porcupine hair and may be dyed to match the regalia of the person who is wearing it. They are held on a dancer’s head either with a scalp lock, a braided piece of hair, or with shoestrings that are attached to the roach pin and tied around the head. Although historically roaches were only made to be about 12 to 15 inches high, today longer roaches are in style varying from 18 to 22 inches. Occasionally some are seen up to 36 inches. Roaches are the most common form of headdress found at modern pow wows and can be worn in all of the men’s dance styles. The roach is held open with a spreader that can be decorated with scalp feathers.

Roach Pin:

A roach pin is a dowel that holds a roach in place. It is usually about 12 inches long and about ½ inch in diameter and decorated with a colored tape, ribbons, and Peyote stitch beadwork. A Traditional Dancer’s pin may have several eagle fluffs tied horizontally on the end. Most roach pins have small feathers that hang off the pin that should bounce around as the dancer dances.

Round Dance:

A Round Dance, or Social Dance, is usually held at the beginning of a pow wow session. Dancers form a large circle in the arena, each dancer staying with other dancers of their dance style. A song is sung with a heavy 1-2-1 pattern and the dancers move laterally around the arena. The faster styles, like Fancy and Traditional, dance closer to the drum. The slower ladies dance near the edge of the arena using a slower foot pattern. Usually Round dances are sung in sets of three or four songs.

Scalp Feathers:

Scalp feathers are feathers (or sometimes one feather) that is tied in the hair at the base of the roach. They may be decorated with fluffs, pieces of fur, metal spots, and/or cuts in the feather.

Two Step:

The Two-Step seen at pow wows certainly can’t be mistaken for the Texas Two-Step but is, none-the-less, a fun event for everyone. The Two-Step is one of the few dances where a man and lady are allowed to touch one another and is much like a follow-the-leader dance. The first couple is always the Head Man and Head Lady, who are followed by other couples who wish to join. Any person, whether dressed in regalia or not, is invited to participate. The twist to the Two-Step is that the lady is the person who usually asks a man to dance. If he refuses he must give at least $5 to the woman who asked him. Two Steps can become very intricate and complex, depending on who leads them, and are danced to a rhythm much like a Round Dance.