All Nations Dance Together - Gathering of Nations Powwow

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.