Kalle BenallieICT
Powwows include a variety of dances. Some may depend on the generation dancing them, the occasion, the organizer and personal preference.
Dancers at the last Gathering of Nations spoke to ICT about the evolution of powwow dances from the past to the present and their personal reasons for liking a particular dance.
Leslee Woody, Navajo, dances traditional southern cloth. She said powwows can change depending on who is on the committee at dances.
“A lot changes in general, when we go to powwows in different areas. Things change. Sometimes they mix it up a little bit and make something different,” Woody said.
Her favorite dances to watch are chicken and fancy, especially because she looked up to her brother who is a fancy dancer.
“You just love sitting there and watching all the categories like watching everybody,” she said.
Her mother Loraine Lee, Navajo, also dances southern cloth. She said that there are a few new dances in the powwow circuit like the woodland, chicken and the horse dance.
“It makes a powwow a little longer, but it’s good to watch other people bring their culture in and to observe and watch. It’s like, ‘Wow, we never knew that existed.’ It’s just like woodland dancers, you just hear about it, but it was never really out here until just in the past few years,” Lee said.
Her favorite dances are the southern fancy dance because most of her family dance fancy. She said she remembers back in the 80s, how there was more initiation to specific dances. Now, people dance whatever they want.
Nelly Ann, Thunderchild First Nation, at the last Gathering of Nations on April 25, 2026. She dances Northern Cloth. Photo by Kalle Benallie, ICT)
“It really depends on their culture and where they’re coming from. A lot of people do interchange — there’s a lot of southern people that dance northern traditional, other northern people that dance southern style. So it’s kind of [an] interchange nowadays,” Lee said.
Nelly Ann, Thunderchild First Nation, dances Northern Cloth. She said the new dances have created a revitalization.
“I find that now we have more types of dances, it’s like you’re seeing a bigger diaspora. I like it because I remember when I was small, there were just a few categories but now there’s so many and it’s good,” Ann said.
Her favorite dance is the men’s chicken, although she can’t dance it, but she likes how particular it is.
Brayden Sanchez, Navajo, said a powwow dancer chooses what to dance based on their personality, what categories and style they like to do personally.
“I kind of see a lot has changed. These young kids, they learn so fast because I’ve been dancing for a long time. I’m 40 years old so my body’s not like the way it used to be when I was younger. I have to dance slow but I see a lot of different style of dancing nowadays,” he said.
Sanchez said his favorite dance style is chicken because it’s similar to grass. His late brother also danced grass and Sanchez said he dances grass to carry on his legacy and wear his regalia.
“He lived in Tennessee. He flew here and he would say that I’m dancing with the big boys,” Sanchez said. “That’s what it is now, big boys. from around Indian Country and stuff like that.”
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