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Native American Dancers Share Culture for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
To commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the school gathered for a program of traditional powwow dancing by Indigenous ACE (Arts, Culture, Education). The troupe of families and competitive powwow performers shared their heritage through dance, song, drums, clothing, and regalia, educating the school audience and raising awareness of Native American culture.
“We are the East Coast Indians,” said presenter Tatanka Gibson of the Haliwa-Saponi/Nansemond Tribal Nations. He noted that the dancers on the Booker T. Bradshaw stage had traveled from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and the Carolinas to perform on Williams Hill. Gibson also explained that there are 575 federally recognized tribal communities in the U.S. alone. “We are modern people, but we do things that are thousands of years old.”
Gibson gave background information on every dance performed, spoke about modern powwow culture and competitions, and provided details about how dress, dance styles, drumming, and powwow formats have changed over the last 150 years. Students enjoyed performances of the Blanket Dance, two Eastern Woodland dances, and the Chicken Dance. The regalia and clothing worn for the Grass Dance, Butterfly Dance, and Jingle Dress Dance were brightly colored and more modern than other traditional attire, featuring detailed beadwork and decorative feathers. Dancers brought their accessories to life, including feather bustles, wooden flutes, feather fans, sacred hoops, and dance sticks.
Some students enthusiastically volunteered to participate onstage, joining in a group dance that began in a circle, then became a long line that spiraled and serpentined back into a closed circle of dancers and students. Gibson concluded the program with a question-and-answer session and an open invitation for students to attend one of the many powwows held nearby to meet and learn from indigenous people of the East Coast.
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