Native American Pow WowVincent D. Amendola

DescriptionThe event featured a Native American dance, arts and crafts, and foods. The dances were performed in a variety of age groups in the form of a contest. The arts and crafts featured a variety of traditional Native American clothes, artifacts, goods, and jewelry. The foods at the event included Indian tacos, fried bread, and corn dogs.

AnalysisThe traditional dance contest was grouped by sex and age. The participants donned traditional Native American garb for the dance. The dances were different for each dancer. It appeared the dancers had their own choice of style for the contest. The music in the background was live drumming and chanting by a small group.

InterpretationIt was interesting that the dancers had different approaches to the competition. I liked the slower, choppier dancing over the fast, more fluid dancing by the participants. This type of dance is similar to other cultures’ native dance. The drum beat with chanting accompanying dancers in extravagant costumes can be found around the world.

EvaluationI feel that this event was a success; it had a lot of visitors and participants. I came away from it having learned more about the culture. The presentation appeared to be true to tradition. I was also interested in the other aspects such as the tee pees, food, and arts and crafts for sale. These were all new to me and I enjoyed them.