32 Nebraskaland • August-September 2023
the beat? How do the dancers' form look when they're dancing
together? The judges look for a lot of diff erent things.
We also do a switch dance. That's when the men dancers
dress like women dancers, and the women dancers dress like
men. It ends up being kind of comical. We also do the men's
fancy shawl dance, when the women dancers will go out to the
side of the arena and select a guy to do the fancy shawl dance.
We do a potato dance, where teams of two balance a potato
between their foreheads. And the MC will tell them: "You
have to jump up and down now" or "turn around and do a
spin" or "get on your knees." It ends up being really fun.
Q: What is the signifi cance of the circular set up of a
powwow?
A: You'd see the circular set up at every powwow across the
country. The only diff erence is that I've seen some tribes dance
counterclockwise, whereas most will go clockwise. From
my research, the Ponca used to do things counterclockwise,
and so originally, we would've danced "backwards." But we
slowly changed that over time somewhere in the early 1900s,
and we started dancing clockwise. I couldn't tell you why
they switched, to be honest, but the circular stage represents
our belief that everything goes full circle. Everything is
never-ending — keeps going.
There are also certain protocols with the arena. When
you enter, you have to go all the way around and come back
out in the same place. If your kids are playing in the circle,
you have to put some money on the head drum — there's a
respect factor that's involved. Your kids are not supposed to
be playing inside the arena. That arena is sacred.
Q: Elders, especially, are given respect and reverence
during powwow. What is the role of elders within the
community?
A: Our elders are revered to the highest degree and treated
with the utmost respect with everything we do. It's ingrained
in our way of life and a part of our culture. They're the wisdom
and knowledge keepers. They're the ones we go to if we have
questions about anything, because they generally will have
an answer one way or another.
Q: How many people attend the Ponca Powwow?
Women's fancy shawl dancers wear moccasins and leggings, along with elaborately decorated shawls that
feature long, colorful fringes.
