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Ok, as a person of mixed-blood who is all NDN, I will dance at powwows, but not competition ones as I feel dancing to be a form of praying. If we had a place to have a monthly Social around here, I would also dance there, because dancing together is a fellowship, a thing which lifts our spirits. When the occasion and invitation arises, I have gone to prayer dances and Sacred Fire ceremonies. There is a proper way for a woman to dress even at a social or during inter-tribal at powwows, where modest attire(cover your hide or stay outside) includes a shawl.
Ceremonies such as stomps require regalia that you do not wear anywhere else, not to powwows even. Due to the sacred nature of these ceremonies, I will not discuss the regalia, but those of us who follow our traditional cultures know what this entails, and again, modesty is a part of it.
It's too danged hot here for buckskin, so I wear cloth dresses for powwow. I like to make mine with a tunic top and skirt, so the top also doubles as a ribbon shirt. I have a tear dress, but usually wear it when the weather is cooler-all those yards of material can operate like a sauna in the high humidity we get here in the Southeast. Before the tear dress our women wore a tunic and skirt, with leggings. Before I even start an outfit, I pray over it. While I make it, I pray over it, when I finish it, I pray over it. Every time I put it on or take it off, I pray over it. While I'm wearing it I am mindful of my attitudes, words, and actions because I am in the presence of my Creator and ancestors, and those assembled there, as a Cherokee woman and as a representative of my people in front of non-Indians. I will not shame my people or myself by "playing" Indian.
Traditionally, Cherokee women did not wear eagle feathers as adornment. If you wore one, it was because you had been honored for something or because you had a son or husband at war. I was given one long ago, and passed it on to my younger daughter when she began dancing. Just as I had been shown how to honor that feather and care for it, I made sure she knew how to do so as well, so that we would both continue to be blessed through it. I gave her my redtail wing fan, which had also had been received as a gift.
I still have a fan of hawk tail feathers, and one made from the right wing of a young wild turkey hen that had been shot by my son. He had prepared for the hunt in the proper way, brought her down with a clean shot, prayed over and thanked her for her gift, then gave every part of her away. Interestingly enough, the only people who've said anything about it to me were whites who-trying to show how much they know-said I was carrying it because I must not be really Indian. Imagine their surprise when a full-blood came to my defense and told them they didn't know anything, that to us Cherokees the turkey is also sacred, and that they should be more respectful. Hmmm, maybe some day I'll make one of those turkey feather capes our people used to wear.
I see plenty of ill-made regalia, worn by wannabe's playing Indian who don't have a clue as to what regalia is about, what being NDN is about. Sure, if someone is trying to connect with their lost heritage, I can have a heart for them, but someone who's truly NDN will understand that they don't step into that circle until the elders say they're ready to, and that there are certain protocols which must be honored for them to be ready. They have to be taught by someone who has elders' permission to do so, they have to prepare mentally and spiritually as well as physically-learning what the dances mean, where they came from, why they're done. And when they're brought into the circle, they have to honor the elders, the drum(s), those officiating, and those who taught them...and give-aways are not cheap, either in terms of cost or in time spent choosing what to give each person, making things, and making each gift a blessing to the person you give it to.
Correcting these people is the responsibility of the whipman, whipwoman, arena directors, or elders. Much as we want to say something to them, it may not be our place to do so as we are then taking on authority we weren't given. When I see something that isn't right, I go to the person in authority and tell them. Even if it's out of the circle or at a powwow or other event open to the general public, it reflects better on us as a whole to correct someone gently if possible, or to respond to someone else's ignorance with dignity and decorum. There's enough fools out there, no need to lower ourselves to their level. Or as my son says, never argue with an idiot-he'll pull you down to his level then beat you with experience.
Ceremonies such as stomps require regalia that you do not wear anywhere else, not to powwows even. Due to the sacred nature of these ceremonies, I will not discuss the regalia, but those of us who follow our traditional cultures know what this entails, and again, modesty is a part of it.
It's too danged hot here for buckskin, so I wear cloth dresses for powwow. I like to make mine with a tunic top and skirt, so the top also doubles as a ribbon shirt. I have a tear dress, but usually wear it when the weather is cooler-all those yards of material can operate like a sauna in the high humidity we get here in the Southeast. Before the tear dress our women wore a tunic and skirt, with leggings. Before I even start an outfit, I pray over it. While I make it, I pray over it, when I finish it, I pray over it. Every time I put it on or take it off, I pray over it. While I'm wearing it I am mindful of my attitudes, words, and actions because I am in the presence of my Creator and ancestors, and those assembled there, as a Cherokee woman and as a representative of my people in front of non-Indians. I will not shame my people or myself by "playing" Indian.
Traditionally, Cherokee women did not wear eagle feathers as adornment. If you wore one, it was because you had been honored for something or because you had a son or husband at war. I was given one long ago, and passed it on to my younger daughter when she began dancing. Just as I had been shown how to honor that feather and care for it, I made sure she knew how to do so as well, so that we would both continue to be blessed through it. I gave her my redtail wing fan, which had also had been received as a gift.
I still have a fan of hawk tail feathers, and one made from the right wing of a young wild turkey hen that had been shot by my son. He had prepared for the hunt in the proper way, brought her down with a clean shot, prayed over and thanked her for her gift, then gave every part of her away. Interestingly enough, the only people who've said anything about it to me were whites who-trying to show how much they know-said I was carrying it because I must not be really Indian. Imagine their surprise when a full-blood came to my defense and told them they didn't know anything, that to us Cherokees the turkey is also sacred, and that they should be more respectful. Hmmm, maybe some day I'll make one of those turkey feather capes our people used to wear.
I see plenty of ill-made regalia, worn by wannabe's playing Indian who don't have a clue as to what regalia is about, what being NDN is about. Sure, if someone is trying to connect with their lost heritage, I can have a heart for them, but someone who's truly NDN will understand that they don't step into that circle until the elders say they're ready to, and that there are certain protocols which must be honored for them to be ready. They have to be taught by someone who has elders' permission to do so, they have to prepare mentally and spiritually as well as physically-learning what the dances mean, where they came from, why they're done. And when they're brought into the circle, they have to honor the elders, the drum(s), those officiating, and those who taught them...and give-aways are not cheap, either in terms of cost or in time spent choosing what to give each person, making things, and making each gift a blessing to the person you give it to.
Correcting these people is the responsibility of the whipman, whipwoman, arena directors, or elders. Much as we want to say something to them, it may not be our place to do so as we are then taking on authority we weren't given. When I see something that isn't right, I go to the person in authority and tell them. Even if it's out of the circle or at a powwow or other event open to the general public, it reflects better on us as a whole to correct someone gently if possible, or to respond to someone else's ignorance with dignity and decorum. There's enough fools out there, no need to lower ourselves to their level. Or as my son says, never argue with an idiot-he'll pull you down to his level then beat you with experience.
Ohhhh puuhhleeezee STEPAHNO 
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