There was a group of singers and musicians in the middle,
and then a ring where Indians from various tribes around the country danced. When we arrived they were doing war dances, and Indians who had served in the U.S. military danced a few rounds (sort of light bouncing as they walked around the ring).
I have to admit, all the songs sounded the same to me. But they weren't. One of a Native American's greatest honors is to have a song written for him. That song gets carried on down for generations and becomes a part of his legacy. Here's a link to a video of some dancers from Friday night, and here's a link to one if you want to hear what the songs sound like (turn your volume down).
There was also the usual Indian fried food, which we avoided, and some nice jewelry to buy.
Eventually, participants started lining up for the Grand Entry, which was really impressive.
Once inside, some would dance, and others would walk around the circle, basically bobbing to the drums.
The outfits were so intricate. Everyone had to be so thankful that we recently had a cold front move through because they would have really been hot. Here are a couple more costumes to wet your whistle. We won't talk about the number of dead animals/birds that went into the making of these outfits...
Even the backs were detailed.
There were a couple of pretty young kids in the mix too.
If you've got more time on your hands, you can sit through the slide show of more of the costumes.
If you're in the neighborhood and missed it, it's still going on Sunday.
