ALL NATIONS DANCE TOGETHER.

THE EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL GATHERING OF NATIONS POWWOW DRAWS THE WORLD TO ITS GROUNDS

The dancers entered the arena in a procession of color, drum, and song. They wore eagle feathers, buckskin, fringe, jingles, beadwork, ribbonwork, blankets, turquoise, shells, bells, and quills--all worn with respect to the birds, animals, fish, earth, water, and sky. The "best" has arrived to perform and compete at the eighteenth annual Gathering of Nations Powwow.

THE GATHERING OCCURS EVERY APRIL FOR three days in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the University of New Mexico's "Pit" sports arena. In 1983, former Dean of Students Derek Mathews, of Cherokee/Chickasaw heritage, and Native American university students organized the first powwow. Mathews continues to organize the event, which has grown from 250 dancers to nearly 2,500. "It was never meant to take off like this," he said. But take off it did, gathering dancers from 500 nations, 50 drum groups, 200 vendors, and 80,000 visitors from around the world. The Gathering is a family event and an educational experience for everyone.

There are more than 500 federally recognized nations, or tribes, in the United States. The media has popularized the names of some nations: Apache, Cherokee, Cheyenne. But others, such as Havasupai and Athabascan, are less familiar. At the Gathering, there were representatives from more U.S. tribes in one spot than anywhere else in the world.

Floyd Moses, an elder Pawnee dancer, rested in the bleachers wearing the full regalia of a "Straight Dancer" including the "roach" headdress made from deer and porcupine hair worn by male dancers. The Straight Dance is a dignified dance rooted in centuries of warrior tradition. A Straight Dancer knows why he dances and understands the tradition in his heart. He honors the ways of the ancestors and pays tribute to the protectors and peacemakers of the people. He moves at a pace and demeanor that marks maturity, respect, and wisdom. Moses has been dancing for seventy-five years. His hair is long and braided, and he speaks with a charming hint of Oklahoma in his blood. "I've been dancing since I was about 3, 4 years [old]. My grandmother used to sing for me. We didn't have no drum. She just clapped her hands.... I love to dance; the drum, there's something to it."

At powwow competitions, the emcee calls for the "drum" to accompany the contest. "Drum" means the instrument and the drummers/singers who surround and play it. Without the drum, there would be no powwow. Drummers devote their lives to the art, learning it by oral tradition from an elder male relative. Ceremony, hard work, and many miles on the powwow highway are part of the process. Drums are distinguished by sound; the high tone is called Northern style, and the lower tone Southern. There also are hand-held drums.

The drums and women back-up singers compete along with the dancers. Competition categories correspond to the dance style and regalia worn by the dancer. These include Grass, Fancy, and Traditional dances for men and boys, and Shawl, Cloth, Buckskin, and Jingle dances for women and girls. Competition dancers must know the songs and drum breaks, or stops, because a sole step beyond the last drumbeat can lose the contest. As the emcee announced: "The competition is in a good way between singer and dancer."

At this year's Gathering, the drummers chose the trickiest songs to challenge the Seneca Smoke Dancers and Relentless Warrior II contestants. The Seneca Smoke Dance is a hyper-speed dance with jumps and intricate footwork that stops on a dime. The Relentless Warrior II Fancy dancers spun, twisted, shimmied, and dipped while their twin feather-bustles shook in a display of swirling fluorescent colors.

The young boys' Traditional contest could make anybody believe in living history. The boys were little men, dressed in headdresses, feathers, and skins from nature that they wore with respect. The footwork, bending in the knees, and movement of the head imitated the hunter stalking prey. The language of their movement clearly pre-dated this century.

Non-contest events also were on the program. A Gourd Dance honored announcer Sammy "Tonekei" White, Kiowa, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and admired emcee in Indian Country. An emcee educates, entertains, and assures that the intricacies of powwow protocol are followed. The Gourd Dance is an expression of a membership society that includes veterans and individuals who have performed exceptional deeds. It is a healing and social dance, often practiced for the safe return of soldiers going overseas. The male dancers were draped in symbolic navy-blue and red blankets and danced fervently to the dram with their gourds in hand. Women in shawls completed the circle.

The Miss Indian World Traditional Talent Competition spotlighted twenty-four contestants ages 18 to 24, in traditional regalia, competing for the title based on knowledge and presentation of a traditional skill, song, dance, or story representative of their tribe. Demonstrations included how to tie a Navajo hair bun, wrap .a baby in a cradle board, make moose-skin moccasins and deer-toe legging ties, and weave a basket.

A few nights later, Ke Aloha Alo, White Mountain Apache/ Hawaiian/Samoan, won the Miss Indian World dance contest, earning the crown and title of Miss Indian World 2001-2002. Alo, a Traditional Southern Buckskin/Polynesian dancer, is a paralegal for the White Mountain Apache nation and also dances modern, jazz, and hip-hop. "Many people have encouraged me to compete and become Miss Indian World," Alo said. "The opportunity allows me to be a voice for all indigenous nations, to educate, break stereotypes, and dispel myths."

The Gathering of Nations is gargantuan. Trails of people moved slowly outside the arena in search of food (which was plentiful) and space. Outdoors, the Indian Traders Market occupied a circus-type tent where more than 200 merchants sold everything from broadcloth to Zuni fetishes. Geri Tsethlikai from Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico, vouched for the trading tradition. "Even though we're in the desert, we have paintings of parrots in our church because our ancestors traveled as far as South America to trade," Tsethlikai said.

By Saturday midnight, the Gathering of Nations was winding down. Jeff Lunsford, 47, Osage/Creek Straight Dancer, was so tired his eyes were strained. Plus, he was preparing for a long drive home to Fairfax, Oklahoma. "I dance because it's a tradition in the family. It goes back in history. My great-great-grandpa was a chief, and he danced. My family has always danced."

"My favorite part this year was when they brought the eagle," said Veronica Medicine, 63, Odawa. (In Native culture, the eagle is accorded the highest respect. In the powwow arena, if a dancer drops an eagle feather, everything stops, and a ceremony must be performed in order to resume dancing.) "She was rescued for rehabilitation. When the crowd roared, the eagle responded and opened her wings."

The Omaha Way

THE MORE THAN 500 RECOGNIZED TRIBES IN THE UNITED STATES have unique oral traditions and ancient histories of beliefs and ceremonies. How and when the powwow began is complex, embedded in ancient cultural heritage and symbolism. The ceremony to honor and give thanks began long before Lewis and Clark met with the Omaha in 1804. Based on the records of explorers, the Omaha Nation of Nebraska has been counting annual powwows for about 200 years. Much has been lost to the pen, but the ways of the ancestors live on in practice and storytelling.

Ceremonies of the past and today's powwow continue to celebrate good hunts and harvests, the giving of gifts and thanks, and the honoring of warriors and veterans. These traditions teach youth the values needed to survive as a people and to live an honorable life.

Today, many nations practice the Grass Dance, or Omaha Dance, a popular contemporary dance with a history as old as grass on the plains. The Omaha celebrate in the tribal circle, which has been blessed and has a traditional opening to the east where the dancers enter and a place of honor to the west. A flagpole and drum sit at the heart, or center, and the elders say the drum is the heartbeat of the people. The dancers "follow the sun" (clockwise) around this center. The celebration lasts four days and occurs under a full moon in August on the reservation in Macy, Nebraska. The drum is heard in the hearts of families far away, and the campgrounds grow with visiting relatives who come home to cherish, share, and give thanks.

Many nations share in the tradition of the powwow, the warrior, and in thanksgiving. At today's international powwows, all practicing indigenous nations gather to share their ways of tradition ill the sacred circle.

--DEE DEE WOODHULL CASTRO

Dee Dee Woodhull Castro, Omaha Nation of Nebraska, thanks the drummers, dancers, and relatives who contributed to this article. She is Dance Magazine's Classifieds/Dance Directory ad sales manager.