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Women's Pow-Wow Dance Categories
Southern Buckskin:
Beauty, elegance, and grace best describe a Southern Buckskin Dancer. These women make this dance style look effortless as they dance with a "flat-foot" step on every other beat of the drum. Each foot is placed a short distance in front of the other and the sway of their shawl fringe mixed with the long buckskin fringe from their sleeves rock back and forth opposite of each other. When the singers wind up into the honor beats, these ladies will slowly bend at the waist and slow their stride down considerably while some even stop and dance in the same place. After a few seconds, they will straighten back up and continue in their original stoic upright posture. Those striding buckskin fringes will never get out of sequence. Typical Southern Buckskin regalia consist of ladies who either wear a beaded crown or those who choose not to wear anything in their hair but hair ties, barrettes, and possibly an eagle plume or a single eagle tail feather. It has been mentioned that those ladies who have been given a proper Indian name will wear an eagle feather or eagle plume in their hair. Long strips of otter fur will tie under the hair ties and hang well below the dancer's waist. Exquisitely accented beadwork will normally contour every visible edge of the buckskin dress. The dress itself is usually made up of two main parts, the skirt and the shirt or the yoke. The skirt has short fringe running down the sides of the legs and all around the bottom of the dress with beaded edges right above the fringe. The shirt or yoke has large open sleeves and around the bottom edge of those sleeves dangle the long thick rows of buckskin fringe that come close to touching the ground. A long bone or large bead breastplate will hang around the neck with one side covering the chest and the other side covering the dancer's back and usually ends around the waist. A thick rawhide or beaded belt will normally divide the dress possibly with distinctive pouches depending upon that dancer's tribal affiliation. The Moccasins are normally full length meaning they will tie off just below the knee or above the calf muscle. The lower part of the moc will either be fully beaded or just accented as per the design of the dress above. These ladies will carry a folded shawl across one arm and the other hand usually carries an eagle or macaw tail feather fan and either a partial or fully beaded purse.
Northern Buckskin:
The Northern Buckskin dress originated from the Northern Plains and is quite similar to the construction of the Southern Buckskin dress except for the amount of beadwork on the dress and its unique style of dance. A majority of the ladies that dance this style will proudly display fully beaded shirts or yokes with very intricate designs as compared to the accented edges of the Southern Buckskin. Dancers that choose not to wear fully beaded shirts will adorn their regalia with either cowry shells, dentalium shells, or elk's teeth. There are three different styles of dance that accompany this dress depending on tribal affiliation or region. One distinct style is when the dancer stands in one spot and bounces on the balls of her feet, slightly rising off the ground just enough to spin her body slowly from left to right and right to left while raising her fan in the air as the singers approach the honor beats. Another typical dance style of the Northern Buckskin is when the dancer will dance with a "double beat" step similar to that of the Men's Northern Traditional Dancer. One foot will lead the body, stepping out on the balls of her feet then lifting her foot slightly while gently returning that same foot to the ground. The other foot repeats this action while the dancer usually has one of her hands on her hips and her proud face slightly lifted in the air to view the rest of her arena. This dancer will roam in a large circle around the center drum or the center of an open arena while she slowly zigzags around the dance circle. Lastly, some of these dancers will use the same smooth gliding stride similar to that of the Southern Buckskin Dancer. The last two styles will produce the same back and forth rocking motion of the buckskin fringe connected to the sleeves. The breastplate of the Northern Buckskin will be considerably longer than the Southern Dancer and will almost touch the ground at the front of her body. You won't see many beaded crowns on these ladies as they prefer to let their beautiful long hair fuse with long strips of otter fur strips that drape below their waists. Hand carried items include the typical folded shawl on one arm and an eagle tail feather fan with a partial or fully beaded purse in the other.
Southern Cloth:
The beautiful ladies of the Southern Cloth division will dance the same smooth gliding style as that of the Southern Buckskin Dancers. Typical regalia for this dance category will include either fully beaded crowns or should the dancer opt for simplicity, hair barrettes, hair ties, and either an eagle plume or an eagle tail feather in her hair. A few of the ladies from the southern tribes might be seen wearing an otter fur hat with either an eagle plume or eagle tail feather sticking up from the back of the hat. Depending on the tribal origin of the dancer, the shirt, skirt, and apron could range from incredibly simple to visually breath taking with a rainbow of colored cloth or ribbon appliqué. The regalia of the Northern Oklahoma Cloth tribes will typically consist of longer shirts made from silk or satin material with more emphasis on colorful floral or symmetrical block design appliqués. The ladies of the Southern Oklahoma Cloth tribes such as those from the Comanche and Kiowa tribal nations will typically wear a plain colored satin or calico pattern dress with a wrap apron that covers the hips. Some of the ladies from the Oklahoma Northland will wear full length fully beaded mocs while others choose to wear just a beaded moc with no calf covering what-so-ever. These ladies will typically forgo any material covering their lower legs leaving bare skin or they could wear beige pantyhose exposing some of their leg until about midway up the calf when the bottom of the forked ribbon work fringe that hangs off the bottom of the dress meets the midway point of the calf. Bone or large bead breastplates are common with some of the women in the Southern Cloth category while others wear multiple beaded rosettes around the neck and chest. A rawhide or beaded belt can be worn with pouches or a weapon sheath depending on tribal affiliation or region. Typical hand carrying items include a folded shawl draped over one arm and an eagle or macaw tail feather fan with either a partial or fully beaded purse in the other hand.
Northern Cloth:
Unless you attend one of the bigger Pow-Wow's in Oklahoma, you won't see many dedicated dancers from the Northern Cloth division participating in a typical Oklahoma Pow-Wow. This is a shame, because these women offer spectators plenty as far as the various styles of dance and regalia are concerned. These dancers will employ any of the three main dance styles as mentioned in the Northern Buckskin section. Typical regalia for the ladies of the Northern Cloth category will include trade or broadcloth, wool, satin, or silk dresses with porcupine quillwork, cowry shells, dentalium shells, or elk's teeth spaced evenly and sewed on in rows across the chest, shoulders, arms, and back. Dancers can sometimes wear a woven hat or just plain braided hair with hair ties, barrettes, and an eagle plume or eagle tail feather proudly displayed. Most ladies will incorporate full length bone or large bead breastplates that will extend from the chest to the bottom of their dresses. Northern Cloth Dancers will usually wear a rawhide or a fully beaded belt with pouches depending on the tribal affiliation or region they originate from. A majority of these women will wear full length beaded moccasins with intricate designs. Typical hand carrying items include a folded shawl in one arm and an eagle tail feather fan and a partial or fully beaded purse in the other hand.
Fancy Shawl:
Fancy shawl Dancers are the female counterpart to the Men's Fancy Feather Dancers minus the feather bustles. These ladies are light on their feet and very agile as they spin, step, and kick to a fast paced Northern Drum. The entrancing colorful fringe coupled with a dazzling array of sparkling material and beautifully designed appliqué patterns will easily catch the eye of every judge on the dance floor. The dance style of the Fancy Shawl Dancer will be dictated by the tempo and style of the song that is produced for them by the singers. Moreover, you can see these ladies breakout some pretty fancy footwork of their own mixed with a lot of time spent in the air as they take long striding steps and hops as they intertwine one set of dance steps into another. Typical regalia of the Fancy Shawl Dancer will include a beaded headband worn across various parts of the head. Most ladies will include either an eagle plume or an eagle tail feather attached to the headband or a set of barrettes. Shawl Dancers normally have a drape that fits over their head and lies on top of their shawl. This drape is usually fully beaded, if not, it will be made of ribbon or appliqué material and will cover most of the chest and the back. The Dancer will usually wear a long sleeve shirt under their cape and a beaded or rawhide belt will divide the beautifully designed skirt below the waist. The bottom of the dancers skirt will have some ruffled material around the base that will hang to just below the knees. Moccasins are usually full length and fully beaded with intricate designs on both the mocs and the leggings. There are usually no hand carried items as the Shawl Dancers will have their hands in small pockets in each corner of their shawl that helps them hold onto it while they dance and spin.
Jingle Dress Dance:
The Jingle Dress Dance originated from the Northern Plains and is believed to be a "medicine" or "healing" dress. Old stories about the traditional dance style say these ladies were never allowed to cross their feet, never to dance backwards, and never to spin around in a full circle. Of course modern Jingle Dancers or "contemporary" style dancers no longer follow these rules so this allows them to combine elegant footwork with the flash that will catch the judge’s eye. As you watch a beautiful young lady dance to a spirited Northern style song, you can't help but become mesmerized by the sound of the hundreds of rolled up tins crashing into each other to produce that unmistakable "jingling"sound. If you’re not mesmerized by the sound of those jingles, you will be dazzled by the beautiful footwork these skilled ladies have learned through many years of dedicated practice. One hand usually stays on the dancer’s hip, holding onto her purse the whole time while the other hand holds the eagle tail feather fan as she slowly lifts and spins her fan throughout her dance routine. With her head held high, proud, and dignified, the Jingle Dancer will occasionally zigzag back and forth around the arena while dancing to a "straight beat" song. The other style danced by the Jingle Dress Dancers will be to a side step or a "slide" song. During this dance style, the dancer will start out by moving to her left from toe to heel in a clockwise circle around the arena or she will simply side-step to her left similar to a typical round dance but with a faster pace. Typical regalia of the modern Jingle Dress Dancer are really quite simple. Most of the ladies will wear a beaded headband similar to the ladies of the Fancy Shawl Dancers with either an eagle plume or an eagle tail feather at the back of her head. For those that choose not to wear a headband, simple braided hair with barrettes and hair ties are the norm. The dress is usually made from an eye catching material such as satin, silk, or possibly even a sequin-like material and well placed ribbon work or appliqué will accent the many rows of jingles both above and below her waist. The top of her dress will normally include long sleeves and there is usually a row of jingles above the dancer’s chest and across her back. A rawhide or beaded belt will divide the dancers dress into the lower half where a majority of the rows of jingles will encircle the dress. The dress will usually hang down as far as the mid-calf region and the dancers moccasins will be full length fully beaded. Typical hand carrying items include either an eagle or macaw tail feather fan in one hand and a purse in the other hand.
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Dance Categories 
51st Annual Kiowa-Apache Blackfoot Society Ceremonial
