Other stories in "American Indians"

• Pike on the prowl
  For better or worse, America's first emissary on the Upper Mississippi set history into motion.
• Place of the Long Rapids
  Across Rainy River, the long-dead mean much to modern-day Ojibwe.
• Remembering Black Hawk
  Near Galena, a fort interprets a Sauk leader who has gripped imaginations for 175 years.
• Written in stone
  The petroglyphs at Jeffers tell an ancient story.
• Pipestone homage
  For centuries, its quarries have been a sacred spot.
• Dancing on the Yellow Medicine
  In history-filled river valley, a wacipi celebrates Dakota culture.
• Heritage travel: Dakota and Ojibwe
  Despite centuries of disruption, their cultures survive.

Powwow primer

For all who attend, the annual gathering has many layers of meaning.

As the afternoon sun beat down on Mankato's Land of Memories Park, the drumming began.

Into a circle ringed by bleachers came dancers carrying sacred eagle staffs, honoring the memory of 38 Dakota warriors hanged nearby in 1862. Other dancers carried flags, one honoring the military veterans who are venerated in Indian culture. After them came the men's traditional dancers, wearing turkey-feather bustles and perhaps a bone breastplate, using a controlled, heel-to-toe step. Then came the fancy dancers, in a whirl of color and spinning leaps; grass dancers, with streamers swaying; and young women in jingle dresses.

It was the second year I'd come to the Mdewakanton Mah-kato Wacipi in Mankato. Even so, as I watched the proceedings and listened hard to the voices crackling over the PA, I could hear Sherlock Holmes' admonishment to the dim-witted Watson echoing in my ears: "You see, but you do not observe.''

A powwow can be a little like a Magic Eye puzzle: There's a swirl of colors and a lot to look at, but the eye may not be able to grasp the whole picture. That is, if the eye belongs to a person whose knowledge of Indians comes from history books.

"It's such a different culture,'' says public-television producer Barbara Wiener, who spent a year researching her documentary "Wacipi-PowWow.'' "It's so shocking — you feel like you've stepped into a different country.''

Each summer, powwows are held around the United States. For local bands, they are a social gathering, a time to greet old friends, replenish a sense of cultural identity and show off achievements. For the public — and the powwow's tradition of welcoming outsiders is an old one — it's a window into a culture rich with nature-based spirituality and symbolic meaning.

The Mankato wacipi is a traditional powwow, more like a family reunion; at competition powwows, dancers and sometimes drummers vie for cash prizes. At all powwows, the dancing celebrates each man and woman's artistry, spirituality and connection to ancestors and community.

As we watched the dancers, we developed favorites, some for their intensity, some for their elaborate regalia, some for their movements. One dancer moved his head sharply from side to side, like a bird, and wore red paint on his forehead and blue and black paint on his cheeks. Afterward, we complimented him on his dancing. His name was Gregory LaPointe, he had traveled from Rosebud, S.D., and he told us how, three years before, after many years of aimlessness, he finally had asked the elders for instruction and had begun to dance.

"Then everything just fell together,'' he said, and pointed to some young boys passing by. "I am like one of the children; I'm just now growing back into my culture. I'm learning to walk the road.''

While the Grand Entry is the centerpiece of a powwow, there also are craft tents and food booths. At the Mah-kato wacipi, there was a Learning Tent where elder Solomon Hall of Brandon, Manitoba, told me about his work as a therapist and medicine man. Another elder showed us how small canvas tepee for children.

In another tent, some older men were hunched over a game of moccasin, a kind of shell game played with mats and poles; according to legend, it was created by a Dakota hunter who, having beaten an enemy at the game, refused to cut his neck and instead took him home as a brother.

In time, says Barbara Wiener, the many facets of Indian culture reveal themselves to those who relax their reliance on Western thinking.

"The more powwows you go to, the more you know and the more respectful you are in terms of listening, and if you listen you will get it,'' she says. "Now, I can't imagine a summer without going to several.''

Trip Tips: Powwows

The centerpiece is the Grand Entry; most are 1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7 p.m. Saturdays, but call in advance to find out for sure. Guests may want to bring tobacco to honor favorite dancers, drummers, or elders with whom they wish to talk. Never enter the circle unless invited, and don’t take photos when the announcer forbids them. Refer to outfits or regalia, not “costumes.” Guests should stand during the Grand Entry and honor songs.

One of the first things visitors will notice is the many ways in which veterans are honored. Despite their history with the U.S. government, Indians take great pride in serving their country, and their young people have a long record of valiant service.

Check with each nation to find out when powwows are held; near the event date, call for grand-entry times. Below is a guide to some powwows. For others, check The Circle News, based in Minneapolis, thecirclenews.org, and the web sites www.drumhop.com for Upper Midwest powwows and www.powwows.com for powwows nation-wide.

May

Ho-Chunk Nation Memorial Day competition powwow in Black River Falls, two miles east of Majestic Pines casino on Wisconsin 54, May 24-26 in 2008. 1-715-284-4563, www.ho-chunknation.com, www.blackrivercountry.net.

Leech Lake spring traditional powwow in Cass Lake, Minn., May 23-25 in 2008, www.leechlakegaming.com;  800-356-8615, www.casslake.com.

Memorial Day Powwow at Mille Lacs Indian Museum near Onamia, Minn., May 25 in 2008, 320-532-3632, www.mnhs.org.

June

Dakota Homecoming traditional powwow in Winona, Minn., June 7-8 in 2008, www.dakotahomecoming.org.

White Earth traditional powwow in White Earth, Minn., June 13-15 in 2008, www.whiteearth.com.

Ogitchidaa Powwow in Lac du Flambeau, 1-888-588-9052, www.lacduflambeauchamber.com.

Lower Sioux Community Wacipi in Morton, Minn., near Redwood Falls, traditional, June 13-15 in 2008, 507-697-6185, www.lowersioux.com.

St. Croix Casino Native American Pow-wow in Turtle Lake, June 20-22 in 2008. 800-846-8946, www.stcroixcasino.com.

Grand Celebration contest powwow in Hinckley, Minn., June 20-22 in 2008, 800-472-6321, Ext. 4843 or 4556, www.grandcasinosmn.com.

Lake Vermillion traditional powwow on Lake Vermillion near Ely, Minn., June 20-22 in 2008, www.fortunebay.com.

Late June to mid-August: Tuesdays at the Indian Bowl in Lac du Flambeau, where powwows have been held for tourists since 1951. They start around 7 p.m., 1-877-588-3346, www.lacduflambeauchamber.com.

July

Sault Tribe of Chippewa Powwow in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., July 2-6 in 2008, 906-635-6050, www.saulttribe.com.

Oneida Nation Powwow in Oneida, near Green Bay, competition. It's July 4-6 in 2008. 1-800-236-2214, www.oneidanation.org.

Red Lake Independence Day Contest Powwow in northwest Minnesota, 1-218-679-3341, www.redlakenation.org.

Red Cliff powwow near Bayfield, Wis.. It's July 4-6 in 2008. 715-779-3700, www.redcliff-nsn.gov.

Leech Lake Fourth of July traditional powwow in Cass Lake, Minn., July 4-6 in 2008, www.leechlakegaming.com.

Bear River traditional powwow in Lac du Flambeau, Wis., July 11-13 in 2008. 1-888-588-9052, www.lacduflambeauchamber.com.

Prairie Island Wacipi Celebration near Red Wing, Minn., July 11-13 in 2008, 1-800-554-5473, www.prairieisland.org.

Fond du Lac Veterans Powwow, Cloquet, Minn., July 11-13 in 2008, 1-218-879-4593, www.fdlrez.com.

Honor the Earth Lac Courte Oreilles Powwow near Hayward, Wis., July 18-20 in 2008. 715-634-8934, www.lcotourism.com.

Pipestone Dakota Traditional Wacipi in Pipestone, Minn., July 26 in 2008, www.pipekeepers.org.

August

Dakota Traditional Wacipi in Upper Sioux Agency State Park near Granite Falls, Minn., Aug. 1-3 in 2008, www.uppersiouxcommunity-nsn.gov.

Menominee Nation contest powwow in Keshena, Wis., northwest of Green Bay, Aug. 1-3 in 2008, www.menominee-nsn.gov.

Grand Portage traditional powwow in Grand Portage, Minn., Aug. 8-10 in 2008, 800-543-1384, www.grandportage.com.

Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Welcome Home traditional powwow in Mendota, Minn., on the Minnesota River between Minneapolis and St. Paul, Aug. 8-10 in 2008, 651-452-4141, www.mendotadakota.com.

Mille Lacs Traditional Powwow at the powwow grounds, near Onamia, Minn., Aug. 15-17 in 2008, 320-532-7496, www.millelacsojibwe.org.

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Wacipi in Prior Lake, Minn., Aug. 15-17 in 2008, 952-445-8900, www.shakopeedakota.org.

Anishawbe Keeshigun competition powwow at Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay, Ont., Aug. 15-17, 807-473-2344, www.fwhp.ca.

Bad River traditional powwow in Odanah near Ashland, Wis. It's Aug. 22-24 in 2008, 715-682-7111, www.badriver.com.

St. Croix Wild Rice Fest traditional powwow in Danbury, Wis., Aug. 22-24 in 2008, 800-236-2195, www.glitc.org.

Leech Lake Labor Day contest powwow in Cass Lake, Minn., Aug. 29-31 in 2008, www.leechlakegaming.com; 800-356-8615, www.casslake.com.

Ho-Chunk Nation Labor Day Powwow in Black River Falls, two miles east of Majestic Pines casino on Wisconsin 54.  800-294-9343, www.ho-chunknation.com.

September

Indian Summer Festival in Milwaukee, Maier Festival Park, Sept. 5-7 in 2008, www.indiansummer.org; 800-554-1448, www.milwaukee.org.

Mahkato traditional wacipi, Mankato, Minn., Sept. 19-21 in 2008, 651-255-0823, www.mahkatowacipi.org.

Last updated on August 4, 2008