My boys recently went to a local Catholic school with their culture club to do an exhibition and I found out today that a video of them dancing was posted online. I thought people might be interested.
The boys are all grass dancers, the girls with the shawl are fancy shawl and the other girls are jingle dancers. The tallest boy in orange and the child in the regalia that matches my avatar are mine.
j/k)
You got to love the energy involved. They looked beautiful.
It's the Turtle Mountain band of Chippewa Indians which are Ojibwe. This particular band is Metis, a mix of French and Indian.
And to top this regalia off my oldest wants me to add bustles to his regalia so he can fancy dance. The basic pieces are close enough that I don't have to make him a whole new regalia. A video of a fancy dancer:
For Pow-wow dancing it doesn't really matter what tribe they are from, the dances have gotten mixed up over the years.
mbelgard, I don't post often, but I just HAD to comment on the dancing and your son's regalia. You did such an awesome job making it. I have worked with 3 special needs siblings for the past 2 years, and we made them regalia for pow wows, but they were NOTHING near as beautiful as yours. Congratulations to your boys for being involved in their heritage. I wish more kids did.
ps the little girl in the yellow fancy shawl sure knows how to play to the camera, lol
mbelgard, I don't post often, but I just HAD to comment on the dancing and your son's regalia. You did such an awesome job making it. I have worked with 3 special needs siblings for the past 2 years, and we made them regalia for pow wows, but they were NOTHING near as beautiful as yours. Congratulations to your boys for being involved in their heritage. I wish more kids did.
ps the little girl in the yellow fancy shawl sure knows how to play to the camera, lol
Thanks, these were my second year making them, I've done a total of 3 now. I'm not Native, my husband is, and had never even been to a pow-wow when my oldest decided he wanted to dance with the school so it was a little scary to do the first one. I did decide I like it though because I can use ribbons and beads for my boys without them yelling, the next one I make is going to have pink. 
It is nice that the boys are interested in their heritage, this tribe is in real trouble with their culture so anyone who's even a little interested is good.
And the little girl in the yellow shawl is the daughter of the lady who recorded the video so she isn't really playing up for the camera. If you listen you will here her mother saying her name to get her attention so she could record her a little more.
lol, thought I heard a voice in the background. I'm not native either, but after working closely with our local band, I find their culture fascinating. Did you get advice when making the regalia, or can u get patterns? Our children's case aide just hand drew patterns for us....nothing really fancy,,no beading just some ribbons. I would love to make our little girl a jingle dress (even though she wouldn't be able to dance she would love the sound). I think most bands are in trouble with their culture right now. The elders are dying off and the young people are too caught up with "modern" gadgets and life styles right now and by the time some of them "wake up" it will be too late because there won't be anyone left to teach them. Sad. BTW love the "pink" idea, lol
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