why do they do that??

[dad]

there lots of dancer out there, everone trys to stand out. after a while most dancer start to look the same, but when some one comes out with somthing new or diffrent or even a new style of danceing people start to copying there style and then try to pass it off on there own. why dont they just get a style of there own??

[Singing Otter]

Good question. I've been wondering that myself. A friend of mine recently had everything copied (down to the colors, beadwork, dress. EVERYTHING) and I think that's dead wrong. I was taught that when you take/steal someone's beadwork that you in essence are taking bits of their power (not sure how this fits with the mass production stuff). Copying is supposed to be "a form of flattery" but I think I'd be pretty miffed if it happened to me.

I could be wrong but overall I guess it's a case of keepin up with the Joneses.

Note: It's a phrase. Keepin up with the Jones, neighbors, etc. Not anyone specifically... Meaning when my neighbor gets somethin, I gotta get it too. lol :p

[chip]

Who?

[Ember]

Lazy

As a society, we are becoming lazy. Instead of sticking with traditions, people are just doing "WHAT LOOKS GOOD"! We, as Native American's, are a dying people. We have let so many other cultures filter into what we do, instead of passing down traditions. It is very sad to me. I have been to many pow-wow's and other events that everyone is wearing same colors, same pattern's, same from head to toe. In fact, I have even asked people, why they aren't creating there own outfits. I have been taught, your regelia is a portrat of who you are. If you want to be a "lemming", or "cookie cutter" Indian, by all means, dress like the next person....there is no tradition is this. When I was a little girl, my mother was given a beautiful dress by her brother, made by her brother. A lady with-in our tribe, copied her dress, from top to bottom. I even went up to this lady thinking it was my mom. It is not flattery, it is taking away from you, your "song"/ creation of who you are.

[T. Jude Fox]

I agree, no one should copy exactly, it's a wierd society when all tribes are jumping into the pow-wow ways, but be yourself, the pow-wows have very 'few' categories, most tribes have none of it within traditionally, so they just opt in by fitting the norm, please do so as pow-wows do not cater to all old-style dances, so your old old dance regalia won't fit cause it doesn't have it's own category, unless it evolves much like the Southern categories have done nationwide by getting their own status. But straight copying is just wrong.