Native American Articles

At many of today’s Northern and Southern Plains pow-wows and ceremonial dances, the male dancer with the title of Whipman plays an important role with a long tradition. In the Northern Plains, the Whipman is usuall... Read more »

Traditions common to the Ponca, Omaha, Kansas, Osage and Quapaw give evidence that they were once a people living as a single group in the Northern Kentucky, Southern Ohio and Southern Indiana area along the Ohio Rive... Read more »

While many of the traditions concerning Native American face paint been taught to me by Northern and Southern Tribal Elders, I prefer to maintain their privacy. Therefore, I have only used literary sources for referen... Read more »

An important Elder dies almost every day, somewhere in Indian country. When they die, important information on tribal history, tribal traditions, family history, language, songs, stories, etc., die with them. Therefor... Read more »

Ladies Cloth is a form of Native American women's dress and dance and has both a Northern and Southern style. The Southern style is danced by the Kiowas, Osage, Ponca, and others. The Northern style is danced by ... Read more »

Ladies Fancy Shawl is the newest form of Native American Women's Dance, and is quite athletic! Fancy Shawl is often called Northern Shawl, as it does come form the Northern Tribes along the U.S. and Canadian Border... Read more »

One of the oldest form of  Native American Women's Dance is Buckskin. This is a dance of elegance and grace. The movement is smooth and flowing. The ladies wear fine, hand-crafted buckskin dresses, decorated w... Read more »

The Oklahoma Feather Dance or "Fancy Dance" is one of the most popular styles of Native American dance and outfits seen at modern pow wows. The Fancy Dance outfit, as such, has no single Native American tribes. The... Read more »

Though Grass Dancing was originally done as a Warrior Society Dance, it has evolved over the years. It has further evolved into a highly-competitive form of northern dancing. Grass Dancers always stands out by virt... Read more »

The Northern Traditional Dancer is a modern evolution of tribal outfits from the tribes of the Northern Plains such as Sioux, Blackfoot, Crow, Omaha and others. Below is some information about the outfit's parts. I... Read more »

Gourd dancing is not a "pow wow style" of dance. Gourd Dances are held regularly by several groups, especially in Oklahoma. Today the dance is being done at pow wows before, after, and between intertribal dancing. ... Read more »

At Pow Wows the Jingle Dress is one of the most popular styles of dancing.  You'll hear them before you see them because of the dozens of metal cones attached to the dress.  The sound is so unique, you know ... Read more »