Wacipi-Powwow

<v Speaker>Powwow is made possible in part by Target stores Dayton's <v Speaker>and Mervyn's through the Dayton Hudson Foundation and by the Corporation <v Speaker>for Public Broadcasting through the Central Educational Network. <v Speaker>A whole walk home took off. <v Speaker>[Speaking and singing in an unidentified Native American language] [music] <v Speaker>A powwow is a celebration of life. <v Speaker>We all come together as one nation.

<v Speaker>And this is where they talk about the circle that we come in. <v Speaker>This is where we meet friends. This is where we make relatives. <v Speaker>[children shouting] <v Ken Merrick>This is where we bring our children to this circle. <v Ken Merrick>They call it the circle of life. <v Ken Merrick>This is where all good things happened. [sounds of talking] <v Interviewer>Do you do lots of powwows during the summer? <v Allen Papakee>Yeah, we've been going every weekend for the past six- six weeks, I think <v Allen Papakee>it was.

<v Interviewer>Really! Why do you do that? <v Allen Papakee>Because they're powwows. [laughter] I mean, we- we don't know <v Allen Papakee>life without powwow. I don't see how you guys can live without ever knowing the powwows. <v Allen Papakee>[music] <v Powwow MC>Again, we ask you to rise if you are able to as we bring in our eagle staffs. <v Speaker>When you look at the grand entry, It's a teaching right there. <v Speaker>You have the flags that come in, the eagle staffs and those represent <v Speaker>nations, families, communities and <v Speaker>then veterans. <v Powwow MC>We have bringing in our eagle staffs this evening- We have Earnest Wabasha,

<v Powwow MC>heriditary chief of the Dakota Nation. <v Speaker>And then we have the elders and then we've got the adults and then <v Speaker>we have the children. <v Speaker>The children have role models all the way down the line. <v Speaker>One of the things I was always taught was when our people when they would go out <v Speaker>raiding or hunting party, stealing horses, or maybe they'd kill a whole bunch <v Speaker>of buffalo or whatever, you know, they're bringing this meat home, well, when you get in <v Speaker>sight of the camp, they would stop. <v Speaker>They would clean up, put on their finest outfit you know, and painted up. <v Speaker>And then they'd come in and show off. <v Speaker>You know, they'd come in and ride around the camp, showing that they were back and were <v Speaker>ok, you know, showing off what they brought back.

<v Speaker>And that's where, uh- it was kind of like a grand entry. <v Speaker>[music] <v Powwow MC>What a beautiful grand entry. <v Mike Hotaine>Without the beat of the drum, which is our heart, we would not have a powwow. <v Mike Hotaine>So it is important that we respect and honor those people that come together to sit <v Mike Hotaine>around the drum and make a circle as it is a sacred circle. <v Mike Hotaine>[music] That <v Mike Hotaine>all of these tribes would bring the heartbeat of their relatives. <v Mike Hotaine>That's what the drum is about. But the drum actually, when it comes, we're looking at <v Mike Hotaine>the families of these men that are sitting around the surgery to beat the <v Mike Hotaine>drum. If one weakens, the drum will start falling apart.

<v Mike Hotaine>So they must also be caring. They must also protect one another. <v Mike Hotaine>They must also support each other. <v Mike Hotaine>So one has a family. Another has a family. <v Mike Hotaine>Those families become relative. <v Mike Hotaine>So it goes on and on like that, right around the circle. <v Mike Hotaine>It never ends. <v Mike Hotaine>[singing] These boys, these men will then go and adopt a friend <v Mike Hotaine>and they become relative and his family become relevant to this family, this whole <v Mike Hotaine>family. So it goes on. <v Mike Hotaine>So the whole nation speaks together, communicates together with the heartbeat <v Mike Hotaine>of each other. <v Mike Hotaine>?inaudible? <v Danny Seaboy>The drumbeat represents the ?inaudible?, they call it, life. <v Danny Seaboy>The first form that takes shape in any person or any living being <v Danny Seaboy>is the heart. Then after that is the physical so that's second

<v Danny Seaboy>and the last is the mentality. <v Danny Seaboy>And today we've lost respect for the heart they call it. <v Danny Seaboy>So this heartbeat represents the drum and your <v Danny Seaboy>heartbeat, the pulse. <v Danny Seaboy>And you put those together- is to rejuvenate - it is to build the spirit <v Danny Seaboy>back up in you. It reaches out to everybody in the whole circle. <v Danny Seaboy>And it'll even take the Eagles. They'll even bring the thunder beings. <v Danny Seaboy>They'll even bring the wind. <v Danny Seaboy>See, that's when you see these things happen, then, you know, you've got <v Danny Seaboy>something very spiritual happening. [music] <v Speaker>The drum came to the Indian people through a woman.

<v Speaker>So that woman is, that spirit is in that drum. <v Speaker>[singing] <v Amos Crooks>Listen to the drum, you know, and it calls you. <v Amos Crooks>And it happens to me lot of times, and I was, oh, I'm so tired, I'm gonna rest. <v Amos Crooks>All of a sudden I hear a good song and a good step on and out I go. <v Amos Crooks>My wife said, I thought you was tired. I said, Drum said, I'm not tired. <v Amos Crooks>[music] <v Mike Hotaine>There's a song everywhere, no matter where you go there is a song. <v Mike Hotaine>And that's what we're told to listen to. <v Mike Hotaine>There are songs in the grass because it is the sacred blanket of Mother Earth in <v Mike Hotaine>the summertime. And there is songs in the winter time when the wind howls through <v Mike Hotaine>windows or doors or wherever the song. <v Mike Hotaine>There are songs that birds that sing particular songs.

<v Mike Hotaine>And there's words in those songs. <v Mike Hotaine>All we have to do is learn to listen to the great songs of Mother Earth. <v Mike Hotaine>[birdsong] God <v Mike Hotaine>gave one of the greatest gifts was to sing together and the beat out that particular <v Mike Hotaine>song is the drum beat itself, which is your heart. <v Mike Hotaine>So your heart is the drumbeat and your songs are the gifts <v Mike Hotaine>of life. <v Ron Davis>When you hear a good song and you're out there dancing, you kind of <v Ron Davis>go to your inner self and where you- where you had your <v Ron Davis>vision. You go back to the place where you feel comfortable, you know, in your own state <v Ron Davis>of mind and nothing else around you

<v Ron Davis>can interrupt that. <v Ron Davis>And that's- when you hear that song and it's so pretty, you know, it's like- sounds <v Ron Davis>like the wind. And you just- and you just dance to <v Ron Davis>that and it feels good. <v Lillian Goodeagle>A real good song it- it- it just comes into you. <v Lillian Goodeagle>It's like in your heart. And it just- your body <v Lillian Goodeagle>starts your feet, your legs, your arms, you know everything just is, um, expressing <v Lillian Goodeagle>that song. [sounds of conversation] <v Speaker>It takes a long time to make an outfit, you know. <v Speaker>You can go through life and keep adding on to that outfit because

<v Speaker>different circumstances that surround different items <v Speaker>that you add to your outfit. <v Buddy Whipple>The breastplate a long time ago, before the coming of the Europeans, it could reflect <v Buddy Whipple>arrows, you know, some spheres. <v Buddy Whipple>And then you would wear a choker which would keep <v Buddy Whipple>you from geting your- your throat cut. <v Powwow MC>We say welcome to each and every one of you, good people. <v Jason Runnels>My dad made this for me. <v Jason Runnels>It was like, um, when a warrior he had, um, a horse that he'd really like to ride and <v Jason Runnels>took him to all of the pony raids and all the war parties, <v Jason Runnels>and that horse got old, and it died and the way <v Jason Runnels>to remember that horse was such a good horse. <v Jason Runnels>He'd carve a stick into that horse and painted him just like that horse. <v Jason Runnels>So you'd always have something to remember him by. <v Jason Runnels>And he'd carry it with him when he dance.

<v Buddy Whipple>Then the mirrors- like if anybody has any bad thoughts about <v Buddy Whipple>you, it's to come in and hit the mirrors and bounce back. <v Buddy Whipple>Like evil spirits, they see themselves and get scared. <v Buddy Whipple>They fly away. [laughter] <v Jason Runnels>This shield I made about three years ago. <v Jason Runnels>It's just like a hoop stretched with rawhide tied <v Jason Runnels>around there and decorated. <v Jason Runnels>I used acrylic paint on that. <v Jason Runnels>The Thunderbird he carries all the thunder and the power from the West <v Jason Runnels>to- to the- the ground. <v Jason Runnels>He's the one that brings the rain, that everything can go again and keep going. <v Jason Runnels>He's the one that means the thunder. The thunder is like real powerful to the Indian <v Jason Runnels>people. So I respected that Thunderbird and the beings of the West. <v Jason Runnels>I put him on my shield and that shield protects me.

<v Jason Runnels>That thunder and lightning protects <v Jason Runnels>me. See how that all ties together. <v Buddy Whipple>When I was younger, I had a lot of hair. I used to just have- had a, uh - had a hair- the <v Buddy Whipple>way I put it on I had a braid on top of my head. <v Buddy Whipple>And then it went through this hole. <v Buddy Whipple>But now I got older, my- my face is getting moving, <v Buddy Whipple>[laughter] so I have to tie it on now with a shoe string. <v Speaker>This piece I hear is very, very traditional. <v Speaker>That's how the old, like going way back to the 1800s, that's how they used to style their <v Speaker>bustles. And I got it given to me by an old elder before he passed away. <v Speaker>He kind've respected me, and <v Speaker>I showed respect back to him by wearing it when I <v Speaker>dance. The feathers are eagle feathers because it's said that an eagle flys the highest

<v Speaker>in the sky, carry our prayers and our thoughts <v Speaker>to ?inaudible,? the Great Spirit. <v Speaker>So that's why we, um, we wear the eagle feathers because they bring us <v Speaker>closer to?inaudbile? when we dance. [music] <v Speaker>This is our oldest dance known to our people. <v Speaker>[music] Long ago, our warriors come back to the camp. <v Speaker>And the way they would let the people know what they had been doing <v Speaker>while they were away on this hunt or stealing horses,

<v Speaker>whatever they were from the enemy. They would come back and then they would in the circle <v Speaker>and the circle in the middle, you would have a fire or something, at night they would <v Speaker>talk. Plus they would act it out and then they would dance <v Speaker>and demonstrate how they would probably stop the game or how they tracked the game. <v Speaker>That's what they did, the traditional dance [music] <v Mike Hotaine>Powwow means that our dancers come together to dance where those that cannot <v Mike Hotaine>dance. <v Mike Hotaine>Dance for the old people and dance for the little children. <v Mike Hotaine>So to dance for them means that it just encourage inside that their tradition is carrying <v Mike Hotaine>on. It's not- It's not going the way of the wind. <v Mike Hotaine>It's still there. So it gives them courage and the strength to be here on their Mother <v Mike Hotaine>Earth for a little longer, to give that wisdom that we have.

<v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>By 1862, Minnesota had declared itself an Indian <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>free state. <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>And in 1863, in fact, there was a <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>200 dollar bounty on Sioux scalps. <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>And those Indians who were here were running <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>for their lives. <v Speaker>People would, uh, they would have powows, secret powwows. <v Speaker>They were outlawed for many years. <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>Everything was banned. And not just dances. <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>But the people themselves were banned. <v Ernest Wabasha>There was no way that they could have completely eliminated powwows. <v Ernest Wabasha>The people just wouldn't let it happen. <v Ernest Wabasha>They got together, and they knew <v Ernest Wabasha>were secret places were. And, uh, they ket <v Ernest Wabasha>each other know by word of mouth where they were going to be and when, and they would all

<v Ernest Wabasha>show up their. It's our culture and our traditions and <v Ernest Wabasha>our spiritual life, our whole way of life. <v Ernest Wabasha>It kept growing that way, kept alive. <v Ernest Wabasha>[music] <v Powwow MC>All our beautiful young women, traditional dancers. <v Speaker>The women danced around the edge of where the men were dancing. <v Speaker>This was mainly in honor of their male relatives that they would do this. <v Speaker>The outfit is very much a part of the judge's <v Speaker>overall picture of a woman's dancing. <v Speaker>You might see the little bag on the back of her belt and the knife

<v Speaker>case with a knife in it. <v Speaker>And an all case, with all in it. <v Speaker>And depending on the style of dress, how is the beadwork applied? <v Speaker>And is it done in a way that looks expert? <v Speaker>This can be geometric design or floral design. <v Speaker>You can tell the difference between an Ojibway or Anishinaabe beaded <v Speaker>flower and a beaded flower of the Dakota woman. <v Speaker>The colors are distinctly different for every <v Speaker>tribe. [music] <v Speaker>It's a very graceful that there's a great deal of strength

<v Speaker>and stamina involved in a woman being able to <v Speaker>dance in a traditional way. <v Powwow MC>We remember the Ogichidaa at this time. <v Speaker>The Indian word is Ogichidaa. <v Speaker>That is sort of translated as soldiers, but <v Speaker>it also means warrior, a protector and helper <v Speaker>of all the people. <v Speaker>They're the ones that fought to keep this land free, even though

<v Speaker>the white man came here and fought the Indian people. <v Speaker>When it came time for war, indians picked up weapons and went to war for this land. <v Speaker>It was always the warrior who was first defending Mother Earth. It was <v Speaker>his duty to be first. <v Ed Godfrey>I think it is a part of traditional values. <v Ed Godfrey>I think it's a part of protecting against any outside <v Ed Godfrey>invasion that would endanger the people who- our <v Ed Godfrey>people who lived here. <v Speaker>Sometime in the future, we believe that we will be back to protect <v Speaker>the environment and everything else. <v Speaker>Sitting Bull said, you know, we live in two worlds now, we live in the white world,

<v Speaker>we live in the Indian world. As you go along in life, learn in the white world what <v Speaker>you can use. What you can't use let it go because, you know, we need that to survive <v Speaker>today. <v Speaker>?Inaudible? people would say just totally awesome. <v Speaker>All right, man tri-star. <v Ron Davis>Trying to get a job in the inner city is kind of rough on any people <v Ron Davis>that come from the reservations. <v Ron Davis>And if- if- if the people that do the hiring and <v Ron Davis>things, if they understand what the Anishinaabe people are about, <v Ron Davis>you know, and that they're really caring people and sharing and <v Ron Davis>very respectful people, then I would think that they would hire them, you know, and <v Ron Davis>they would bring that good feeling to that company or whatever, you know. <v Speaker>This society is filled with inaccurate images of American

<v Speaker>Indians. And the images are easily manipulated. <v Speaker>So being able to show some sort of pride <v Speaker>in our cultures and heritage at a powwow <v Speaker>is very important for mental health. <v Walter LaBatte>All these promises of you- of you getting education and- <v Walter LaBatte>and, you know, everything will be rosy but when you- you find <v Walter LaBatte>out that there's roadblocks- there's roadblocks, and you have to be a very strong person <v Walter LaBatte>to- to break through those roadblocks, that racism. <v Walter LaBatte>And, you know, that goes on. <v Powwow MC>Make yourself comfortable and get yourself an Indian taco and Indian hamburger, an Indian <v Powwow MC>Coffee. <v Walter LaBatte>Being competitive, climbing that corporate ladder or <v Walter LaBatte>climbing whatever or whatever. <v Walter LaBatte>You know, that seems so foreign to <v Walter LaBatte>many Indian people, you know?

<v Walter LaBatte>And I did that, too. I always wanted to be just as competitive as the next person <v Walter LaBatte>and get ahead. That was a challenge. <v Walter LaBatte>But you finally find out that it probably <v Walter LaBatte>broke my spirit, probably. <v Walter LaBatte>So I said, to hell with it. <v Walter LaBatte>You know, they don't want me. <v Walter LaBatte>Well, she just didn't want me. <v Walter LaBatte>I'll come back my way. [music] <v Litefoot>If you were born Indian and you can run away from it all your life. <v Litefoot>But it's still in you. If we have Indian problems and we have Indian questions, we can't <v Litefoot>find Indian answers in mainstream society. <v Litefoot>We have to look to our Indian ways. <v Litefoot>I think that it would have to be reestablishing that walk with the creator. <v Litefoot>I mean, we are a praying people. <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>As I sit here and the wind goes by, I realize that that God <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>is here. What on Tonchi is here to make this wind blow, <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>to make my mouth move and the sound waves

<v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>that that go. The spirituality of American Indians <v Dr. Barbara Feezor-Stewart>is intertwined in everyday life here. <v Speaker>We're durational people here. <v Speaker>We've tried to hold on to those those good ways because those good <v Speaker>ways helped us survive for thousands and thousands of years. <v Speaker>Our way isn't better. It just works for us. <v Powwow MC>As always, we Indian people <v Powwow MC>give thanks to the great creator. <v Speaker>The Lakota tradition is- you're not measured by the richness by how much you have, <v Speaker>but how much you give away, how much you give. <v Powwow MC>We give thanks to the great creator. <v Ron Davis>I mean, it's- it's- it's- it's such a great feeling to give somebody something and make <v Ron Davis>them= make their tummies full. You know, it's it's beautiful. <v Ron Davis>When they're happy. You're happy. <v Ed Godfrey>The wealth that a person posses is their

<v Ed Godfrey>ability to help others to, to share with <v Ed Godfrey>others, to be of service to. <v Patricia Decora>My son graduated from high school. <v Patricia Decora>To me, that's a- that's an accomplishment. <v Patricia Decora>Kids have a hard time doing that. And you look at statistics within society, <v Patricia Decora>the graduation levels for American Indians are very low. <v Patricia Decora>And so that's a big accomplishment for him as an Indian person. <v Patricia Decora>And I wanted to acknowledge that and say thank you for getting that far with your life. <v Patricia Decora>The day he graduated, when I went to his graduation, I told him that we were going to do <v Patricia Decora>this for him. <v Patricia Decora>I did a lot of sewing and a lot of craftwork <v Patricia Decora>and saved and sacrificed all year to obtain those things. <v Speaker>On behalf of her son, you know, for her love for her

<v Speaker>son. She will sacrifice, and she'd give <v Speaker>so that he would learn this. <v Speaker>And someday when he has a son or daughter, <v Speaker>he will know what to do. <v Powwow MC>And we're gonna place some shawls in the 4 directions, and Charlie is going to dance on <v Powwow MC>these shawls. <v Patricia Decora>We have numerous extended families. <v Patricia Decora>And so with the feeling that I had on the day that he graduated, I wanted to share <v Patricia Decora>that with other people and let them know how happy that I was that that happened. <v Patricia Decora>I laid out 4 shawls in front of him that he dances on. <v Patricia Decora>It's a special gift that goes to somebody else, but also it's an honor for him. <v Speaker>It's so closely associated to the memorials, <v Speaker>to teach, to practice the giving <v Speaker>of rather than receiving. <v Speaker>If you love someone, you give in there name.

<v Phil St. John>My <v Phil St. John>oldest son, Terry, when he was six, seven years old, he'd <v Phil St. John>get off school, play around <v Phil St. John>a bit. We'd carry him out to the car and head out about midnight for Eagle Butte. <v Phil St. John>We'd wake up in the morning at 7:30, 7 o'clock. <v Phil St. John>He comes from almost an all white setting to an all Indian city, to be able to adapt to <v Phil St. John>both, to be able to <v Phil St. John>adjust the world and you see the pride and you see the real pride come up, <v Phil St. John>see the real- where they feel real comfortable being with his own. <v Phil St. John>It's identity. <v Phil St. John>It's a must. It's a must to be able to sing. <v Phil St. John>It's a must to be able to dance and participate in cultural- <v Phil St. John>cultural events.

<v Phil St. John>That's all we have. <v Ed Godfrey>Pezi Wacipi, that's the grass flattening down <v Ed Godfrey>and these warriors were the ones who would move ahead of the encampment. <v Ed Godfrey>And they would select the next stop campsite. <v Ed Godfrey>And when they did that, you know, these grass used to grow quite tall, you know, buffalo <v Ed Godfrey>grass. The- they would pull these grass out and tie them in tufts around <v Ed Godfrey>their knees and around their waist, and their arms, you know. <v Ed Godfrey>And then they would sing that special song. <v Ed Godfrey>Singers would sing that special song. <v Ed Godfrey>And so they- they would flatten that grassy bank and flatten that grass.

<v Ed Godfrey>So that's quite the movements that they have in their dance. <v Ed Godfrey>[music] <v Speaker>I dance as a- as a hunter, trying to sneak through the grass <v Speaker>and emulate grass so that the- so that the <v Speaker>prey does not see me. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>What my uncles told me about grass <v Jonathan Windy Boy>dancing is that it's a celebration. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Dancing is a celebration of life. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Dancing for good health and for good fortune is like that. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>When I get out there and dancing, I don't try to <v Jonathan Windy Boy>think of what I'm going to do.

<v Jonathan Windy Boy>I try to focus on what that drum- that beat- the beat of the drum <v Jonathan Windy Boy>and then just go with the flow. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>They, uh, the dance itself. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>You do one thing on one side. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Same thing you do on the other side. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Well that's just like this road to life. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Take this road to life we're walking down. You take a road there and you're walking down. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>If you do something on one side, it's like you take a step on one side <v Jonathan Windy Boy>or you might just- you follow up on the other side <v Jonathan Windy Boy>and try to keep yourself on a road. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>Keep that- you got to keep that balance. <v Jonathan Windy Boy>And that's the same way with this dance and try to keep that balance with- with that, <v Jonathan Windy Boy>what I was telling you, the mind and emotion, the <v Jonathan Windy Boy>physical, the spirit.

<v Ron Davis>And when you're dancing these things that are on in the regalia. <v Ron Davis>They- they bring out a shine, you know. <v Ron Davis>You actually shine out there. <v Ron Davis>When you feel good about yourself, everybody can do that. <v Ron Davis>It's not just it's not just for a Anishinaabe people. <v Ron Davis>It's for everyone. [music] <v Speaker>One day, a long time ago, I used to be the size of this young guy. <v Speaker>And some day this guy is going to be same size as me.

<v Speaker>I'm going to be old one day. I'm going to be gone. <v Speaker>And this guy is going to be taken over. And that's their role that they're going to be <v Speaker>having. <v Speaker>And the way I see it, we in our generation <v Speaker>now, are in a situation where we've got to try to instill a lot of basic values <v Speaker>of our teachings to this younger generation so they can carry on. <v Powwow MC>Take care of your little ones. They're precious. <v Powwow MC>They are a gift to you. <v Powwow MC>Take care of it. Ok, we go to the south and standard drum, for the next intertribal. <v Powwow MC>[Speaking in a Native language]. <v Tania Goodsky>When I was pregnant with him, we went to powwows all over the place. <v Tania Goodsky>And after he was born, when he was a baby, we took him to <v Tania Goodsky>powwows and every time he's heare the music, he would either <v Tania Goodsky>get wide awake and start kicking around.

<v Tania Goodsky>Otherwise, it would put him to sleep.And then about 1, 1.5, <v Tania Goodsky>he started jumping around wanting to go out and dance. <v Tania Goodsky>He wanted to go out and follow his grandpa. <v Harvey Goodsky>It was his decision. We didn't say he had to dance. <v Harvey Goodsky>He just wanted to dance. <v Interviewer>So what do you do when you first come to the powwow site and you pull in to the <v Interviewer>campground? What's the first thing you do? <v Brandon St. John>Oh, I just- I just come on- come <v Brandon St. John>out and play in and try to find my friends and then we'll all play. <v Interviewer>And where are your friends from? <v Brandon St. John>Some- one of them is from Bismarck, Vandery and <v Brandon St. John>I- know everywher but I keep forgetting sometimes. <v Interviewer>So your friends from all over the country. <v Brandon St. John>Yeah.

<v Interviewer>And you see them only at powwows. <v Brandon St. John>Yeah. <v Harvey Goodsky>If you watch your children, you know, you see the adults saying, you know, making new <v Harvey Goodsky>friends and reacquainted with old friends. <v Harvey Goodsky>And it's the same way with these little ones. They have their own little set of friends <v Harvey Goodsky>out there that they see every weekend. <v Harvey Goodsky>So when they go out, they'll dance around. They'll dance on the edge, and they'll look- <v Harvey Goodsky>they'll look around looking for their friends, and they'll see them. <v Harvey Goodsky>And boom, they're gone and all sorts. <v Harvey Goodsky>They have their own little world too. <v Harvey Goodsky>We want both of our children to know where they came from, you know, who <v Harvey Goodsky>they are. <v Interviewer>Harvey, what's your favorite part of a powwow? <v Harvey Goodsky Jr.>When you dance. <v Christina Gale>I'm Ojibwe, and our traditional dance with women is the Jingle dance.

<v Christina Gale>This dress is worn in our ceremonies by the <v Christina Gale>ogichidaakwe. Ogichidaakwe is Warrior Woman and she's a leader in the community <v Christina Gale>and is chosen by the elders to set an example. <v Christina Gale>The way you dance with these is you dance to make the jingles make <v Christina Gale>sounds. So you have to make those gingles dance. <v Christina Gale>Even though they're on the top here, you still have to make them dance. <v Christina Gale>And then the other thing you do is you don't go around in circles. <v Christina Gale>You dance in a zig-zag, you know, because life too isn't always a straight line. <v Christina Gale>You know, you get off the path and you work to get back on. <v Christina Gale>You might get off in another area and you work to get back on. <v Christina Gale>It's more of a shuffle, the way that to dance. <v Christina Gale>Also, when we stop, you know, and raise our fans at a certain time, <v Christina Gale>we're honoring that drum again. The way that drum is

<v Christina Gale>dressed some have little small jingles on them. <v Christina Gale>So the jingles actually come from those ceremonial <v Christina Gale>drums that were given to the Ojibwe people. <v Christina Gale>Shininess has a significance to Indian people. <v Christina Gale>So these snuff- the Copenhagen lids naturally fit in <v Christina Gale>to things that we use. So we started just trimming off a little <v Christina Gale>bit of the edge and using the whole cover now to make this size <v Christina Gale>of a jingle, what you see today. <v Christina Gale>A story was given to me from an elderly woman. <v Christina Gale>Her name was Maggie White. <v Christina Gale>She was from Whitefish Bay, Ontario. <v Christina Gale>When she was a young girl. <v Christina Gale>She got sick and she couldn't walk. <v Christina Gale>And her grandfather had a dream that she- he was to have <v Christina Gale>a jingle dress made. <v Christina Gale>And he was to bring- have his granddaughter brought in in the ceremonial dance <v Christina Gale>hall and sing her four songs in order for her to get

<v Christina Gale>well. So he asked some elderly woman in the community to make this dress. <v Christina Gale>He gave them instruction. They put the dress on his granddaughter. <v Christina Gale>They brought her in the dance hall and the first song. <v Christina Gale>These women had to help her dance around a drum. <v Christina Gale>She could barely walk around the drum in the first song. <v Christina Gale>The second song, they just had to hold on to her a little, and <v Christina Gale>she started to walk. <v Christina Gale>On the third song, they were able to let her go and she could kind <v Christina Gale>of- she could walk pretty good on her own. <v Christina Gale>In the fourth song, she started to dance and was able <v Christina Gale>to make it all on her own and from that day on was able to walk <v Christina Gale>and competed and in Canada and the United States was <v Christina Gale>a champion jingle dress dancer. <v Christina Gale>There are many different stories about the jingle dress. <v Christina Gale>There are stories from the Lacs. There are stories from Leech Lake.

<v Christina Gale>So there's lot of meaning with this dress. <v Christina Gale>People get well from wearing these dresses. <v Mike Hotaine>A powwow is a place where one learns to find <v Mike Hotaine>within themselves who they really are. <v Speaker>This is very sacred circle. <v Speaker>And this is why we don't like to see alcohol and drugs involved <v Speaker>in a powwow. <v Buddy Whipple>I'd go to powwows and I'd feel this. I'd feel it. <v Buddy Whipple>I can't describe it. It's just this feeling I have that I wanted to dance and I wanted <v Buddy Whipple>to be out there and it made me feel good.

<v Buddy Whipple>That's one of the things that's coming back from- from overseas and out of the Marine <v Buddy Whipple>Corps, I really abused alcohol. <v Buddy Whipple>And to me, it was- a weekend was just meant drinking. <v Buddy Whipple>I got off work, went down to the bar, cash my check. <v Buddy Whipple>And of course, I spent half my checked at the bar. <v Buddy Whipple>Then, uh, well going to powows, it was a sober event and <v Buddy Whipple>the more I went to powows, the more I liked it. <v Buddy Whipple>And I let go of the alcohol and drug abuse by going to <v Buddy Whipple>powows. And that's why I've always been- always been real thankful that I found my way <v Buddy Whipple>back. [sounds of jingling]. <v Christina Gale> <v Christina Gale>My namesake told me- He said when Indians drink and drug, they drive <v Christina Gale>their spirits away. <v Christina Gale>You know that spirit doesn't want to be around alcohol and drugs, so it goes away. <v Christina Gale>And that's why people walk around lost. <v Walter LaBatte>And I, uh, well I used to go to powwows- I used to drink <v Walter LaBatte>and have a good- thought I had a good time.

<v Walter LaBatte>But I would see some of those powwow people and see how their life <v Walter LaBatte>had changed true to the traditional way. <v Walter LaBatte>And I used to feel somewhat- I used to feel them <v Walter LaBatte>envious of them because they could enjoy themselves and have a good time. <v Walter LaBatte>You could see them dancing, having fun without having to go that alcohol <v Walter LaBatte>way. Put something in your body to make you feel good. <v Walter LaBatte>And at first, initially, I thought, well, I'll just- I'll just sober up, and <v Walter LaBatte>I'll be satisfied that way. <v Walter LaBatte>[jingling] But there was something lacking. There was something lacking inside. <v Walter LaBatte>That's- sobriety made me- <v Walter LaBatte>made me feel good. But there was something lacking, and I didn't quite know what it was. <v Walter LaBatte>I don't know. Luckily, fell in and found the right way, stumbled and <v Walter LaBatte>found the right way.

<v Ed Godfrey>That the getting high from being out their dancing to a good traditional <v Ed Godfrey>song, you know, that feeling that you have, <v Ed Godfrey>is a true type of feeling that's in the experience for you that isn't <v Ed Godfrey>artificially induced. <v Walter LaBatte>I'm contented. I like this way now, you know, I don't. <v Walter LaBatte>I don't feel a spit person anymore, you know, so. [singing and drumming] <v Lillian Goodeagle>I was probably seven, eight years old the first time that I'd seen it.

<v Lillian Goodeagle>And then I remember these girls came from California, and they were doing this. <v Lillian Goodeagle>And I- and slowly it picked up. <v Lillian Goodeagle>And it is- it's a more contemporary style of dance. <v Lillian Goodeagle>This was probably in the 60s then. [singing] <v Powwow MC>Oh, how about a nice big round of applause, first song, fancy shawl dance. <v Lillian Goodeagle>When I was younger, a lot of places they called it graceful shawl. <v Lillian Goodeagle>You did dainty, smaller steps, more graceful <v Lillian Goodeagle>and closer to the ground, you know, but- but yet you had to be able to <v Lillian Goodeagle>keep up with the men, you know, in time. <v Lillian Goodeagle>You know, as fast as the songs went. [singing] All of my <v Lillian Goodeagle>moccasins I have- I have these little designs on the foot.

<v Lillian Goodeagle>They represent huff's like mine are dear hoofs, because the dear <v Lillian Goodeagle>if you ever see them run and jump over fences, they're just so graceful. <v Lillian Goodeagle>I mean, it's just kind of unbelievable how they- how they look. <v Lillian Goodeagle>It's almost like they're not even touching or they're not tired or they're just, you <v Lillian Goodeagle>know, free floating. <v Lillian Goodeagle>You know, that's when I dance that's what- that I feel really <v Lillian Goodeagle>good like that, and that's the feeling. <v Lillian Goodeagle>Yeah. I guess I want to express, so I was put those or need those on my moccasins. <v Lillian Goodeagle>A real good song I just kind of go off into- I'm not <v Lillian Goodeagle>really thinking about anything, I'm just living that song. <v Lillian Goodeagle>I mean, just out there. <v Lillian Goodeagle>And I don't know it's- it's real strange. <v Lillian Goodeagle>Well, when I'm in really good shape in these certain songs come like that.

<v Lillian Goodeagle>It's like my feet- the toes don't touch the ground. <v Lillian Goodeagle>I don't know how that could- could be, but I can feel it myself, though. <v Lillian Goodeagle>It's like. But the songs are just so- I don't know they just really <v Lillian Goodeagle>do something to me. [singing] <v Powwow MC>Hey, nice, big round of applause for ladies fancy dhawl dancers. <v Powwow MC>?inaudible?rthat was right on. <v Ron Davis>We're all related, you know. We all come from one creator. <v Ron Davis>It's just a matter of getting the- <v Ron Davis>the introductions out of the way, and once you have the introductions out of the way, <v Ron Davis>then your talk comes fluently and you're having a good time. <v Leon Thompson>That's what powwows is all about too, meeitng new people, meeting old friends. <v Leon Thompson>And, uh, one of the terms they call it snagging.

<v Leon Thompson>You know, boy meets girl and stuff like that. They call that snagging. <v Leon Thompson>They say that and, you know, don't be snagging, you know, and let her go or let him go, <v Leon Thompson>you know. <v Powwow MC>Just go out there and <v Powwow MC>meet some friends, shake hands or do a bit of talking. <v Powwow MC>We'll bring you back here in a little while. <v Interviewer>Now, I've also heard a phrase called snagging. <v Interviewer>What does that mean? [laughter] <v Michael Spears>Snagging just means finding a girlfriend at a powwow. <v Interviewer>So it's a place you meet people. <v Michael Spears>Yeah a lot of people from all over. <v Litefoot>Snagging means to- for- for me- for a fella to find <v Litefoot>that beautiful Indian girl and- and see if you can't, <v Litefoot>you know, have a relationship or whatever because, I mean, the powwow circuit goes not <v Litefoot>just from one place, it goes all over. <v Litefoot>So, I mean, you might see that person how many different times in the summer? <v Litefoot>And so, I mean, you kind of- it's kind of like I guess they have summer love and all that <v Litefoot>kind of stuff. You know, any time somebody, like, hits it off, I guess you call it

<v Litefoot>snagging. [laughter] <v Leon Thompson>I know that's how I met my wife on a powwow trail, uh 'You going to be in South <v Leon Thompson>Dakota?' You know, we just met and then, uh, we ended up going to the same school. <v Harvey Goodsky>Nine years ago, we met at a powwow [Tania Goodsky: Mhm], and <v Harvey Goodsky>we just started out as friends. We hung out, hung around together. <v Harvey Goodsky>And that's how we were, was friends. <v Harvey Goodsky>We walked around and talked, and I don't know it just kind of snuck <v Harvey Goodsky>up on me one day, I guess, that's all I can explain it. <v Buddy Whipple>You could not marry someone in your own tribe with your own band, especially in your own <v Buddy Whipple>clan. So what you had to do is you had to go someplace else and get a wife. <v Buddy Whipple>And this is the way you found your wife. <v Buddy Whipple>Someone who was not of your own tribe. <v Ron Davis>When you meet a new- a new person or someone that could <v Ron Davis>could possibly be a companion to you, you know, it feels rather good. <v Ron Davis>You know, and- and it feels like a family. <v Ron Davis>[drumming and singing] <v Powwow MC>Beautiful dancing, beautiful songs this evening.

<v Powwow MC>Sure make me feel proud. <v Leon Thompson>Fancy dancing is probably one of the hardest dances to do in powwows. <v Leon Thompson>You got to keep in shape. You gotta run, practice. It's like <v Leon Thompson>a sport, you can't just go out there and do it. You know, you got to work at it, you <v Leon Thompson>know. <v Leon Thompson>I'm at the age of 32. I'm not really that old, but, you know, I'm getting up there. <v Leon Thompson>[singing] Well, long time ago, from what I understand, there's traditional,

<v Leon Thompson>then there was grass and then there was fancy. <v Leon Thompson>It started down in the south, some based in Oklahoma, some based on there make fancy <v Leon Thompson>dancing. And before is- it first came to us rainbow dancers, <v Leon Thompson>you know and they represent the rainbow. <v Leon Thompson>Traditional dancers they wear stuff for the animals <v Leon Thompson>and represent the animals that they created put on this earth, you know. <v Leon Thompson>So try to pass that on. <v Leon Thompson>The fancy dancers they have two bustles, the top in the bottom. <v Leon Thompson>And some just have plain eagle feathers or plain turkey feathers and some used hackles, <v Leon Thompson>chicken, rooster hackles and they use different colors. <v Leon Thompson>Some use the horse hair like I have and some use ribbons. <v Leon Thompson>A lot of fancy dancers paint your face. All of the fancy dancers wear the roaches

<v Leon Thompson>and they have the different ?dirt? tail colors too- to come with <v Leon Thompson>their outfits, their colors. <v Leon Thompson>Some fancy dancers, you notice, have the rocker that goes back and forth. <v Leon Thompson>I have what they call spinners, you know. That's called a northern style. <v Leon Thompson>And I- I went down to Nebraska a couple two summers ago <v Leon Thompson>and their way had rockers because that's more of a Southern style. <v Leon Thompson>And so my friends are saying and they said, 'Hey, who's this guy with the spinners? <v Leon Thompson>You know, he's got some nerve coming down here, you know.' When it spins because it's- <v Leon Thompson>southern style's fast and rockers and all that. <v Leon Thompson>And I'm more of a northern guy. <v Leon Thompson>That's just the way I am. You know? [singing] Like <v Leon Thompson>when I dance like a fire, so.

<v Leon Thompson>It's like a blazing fire or something when I'm spinning. <v Leon Thompson>When I'm dancing, it's fire [laughter]. <v Leon Thompson>?inaudible? So don't stand too close. [singing and drumming] <v Mike Hotaine>?inaudible? means come and help each other.

<v Mike Hotaine>Come on and let's do it together. <v Mike Hotaine>?inaudible? To give each other strength, give each other words of encouragement, <v Mike Hotaine>gratefulness for you to be here and grace for the- that we met today and talked. <v Mike Hotaine>And that's what the powwow's about. <v Mike Hotaine>It's a celebration of people coming together to share, communicate. <v Mike Hotaine>No matter what part of Mother Earth you are, that part of land is relative. <v Mike Hotaine>And whoever walks on it is your friend, is your ?inaudble? <v Mike Hotaine>That's how we look at it. <v Mike Hotaine>When we come to a celebration of powwow, it's like a bunch of birds coming together <v Mike Hotaine>to communicate, to talk about things, about life. <v Mike Hotaine>It's about a new beginning that they would create for each other, for two <v Mike Hotaine>people. And then they will fly away, you know. <v Mike Hotaine>And that's exactly what will happen here. We come together this weekend after it's

<v Mike Hotaine>finished. We will be going home in our directions. <v Mike Hotaine>And the powwow will be finished, and we will go home feeling a different beginning, a <v Mike Hotaine>different beginning that's happened. [drumming and singing] <v Speaker>

<v Speaker>Powwow is made possible in part by Target stores, Dayton's <v Speaker>and Mervyn's through the Dayton Hudson Foundation and by the Corporation <v Speaker>for Public Broadcasting through the Central Educational Network.