POW WOW's

Traveling the Pow Wow trail of Native Americans is one of the most exiting events in North America. Dance Competitions and other festivities happen all year round and are a great opportunity to learn more about this rich culture which is far from being extinct. In fact it is being revived all over the continent. The intention of these pages is not to give you information on the Pow Wow's or the various dances but rather to share some scenes with you out of my collection of several hundred pictures.  I have traveled to Pow Wow's since 1980, sometimes flying for 24 hours to get from Europe to the most remote areas in the U.S.A.

While these photos in print and on my photo CD's show with brilliant colors and details they have been downsized considerably here for one, so that the download time is not too long and also for the many people who download these photos without permission. The intention is not to publish those photos but to share them with people whom I know.

While the sites of Pow Wow's alone are worth a thousand pictures and words, the main events to see are the Gourd Dances, the Grand Entry and the various dance categories themselves.  During the Grand Entry you can see them all passing by you - one by one - stomping and turning, while the Master of Ceremonies greets them and announces the categories of

• Men's Traditional Dancers,
• Men's Grass Dancers,
• Men's Fancy Dancers,

followed by the female categories of

• Traditional Dancers,
• Jingle Dress Dancers and
• Fancy Shawl Dancers.

There is also special dances, which might not necessarily be performed at Pow Wow's but rather other ceremonies or festivals. There you can see a Navajo Song and Dance Contest or the Apache Crown Dancers.

Enjoy! And remember not to copy, reproduce, publish or otherwise replicate these pictures.