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52-473: Slahal can be understood as not just as a gambling game, but as a means of social and supernatural expression. It has similar rules between Coast Salish groups, historically providing a shared medium for interaction and peaceful rivalry. Today, it holds continued importance by contributing to “the maintenance of intergroup ties, the establishment and endorsement of individual status, the sense of personal achievement through contribution to successful group action, and

104-426: A college or university campus, a tribe, or any other organization that can provide startup funds, insurance, and volunteer workers. A powwow committee consists of several individuals who do all the planning before the event. If a pow wow has a sponsor, such as a tribe, college , or organization, many or all members of the committee may come from that group. The committee is responsible for recruiting and hiring

156-407: A host drum, which is accorded great respect. The members of drum groups are often family, extended family, or friends. Groups are then often named for families, geographic locations, tribal societies, or more colorful names. Many groups display their names on jackets, caps, vehicles, and chairs. Traditionally, only men would drum and women would sit behind the men, singing high harmonies. Beginning in

208-476: A different step to be used during them, but are open for dancers of any style. In addition to the open dances, contest dances for a particular style and age group are often held, with the top winners receiving a cash prize. To compete in a contest, the dancer must be in regalia appropriate for the competition. Larger pow wows have more specific categories. The dance categories vary somewhat by region, but general categories are as follows: Normal intertribal dancing

260-402: A drum to indicate his request for a song even if it is not that drum group's turn to sing. In some regions, it is considered disrespectful to leave a drum completely unattended. Some drum groups do not allow females to sit down at their drum but welcome them to stand behind the drummers and sing backup harmonies; the reasons for this point vaguely to a variety of tribal stories that attempt to tell

312-432: A pow-wow. In many cases, the head dancers are also responsible for leading the dancers during songs, and often dancers will not enter the arena unless the head dancers are already out dancing. The singers perform while singing. Host drummers are responsible for leading songs at the beginning and end of a pow-wow session, typically starting with a grand entry song, followed by a flag song, veterans or victory song. To conclude

364-647: A respected member of the community to deliver an invocation. The host drum that did not perform the Grand Entry song will then perform a Flag Song, followed by a Victory or Veterans' Song, during which the flags and staffs are placed at the MC's table. The styles and types of dances at a pow wow are descended from the traditions of the Great Plains nations of Canada and the United States . Besides those for

416-398: A shortened chorus. Sometimes a drum group will sing the song more than four times, particularly when the song feels good and the singers seize the moment for an extra pushup or two (or more), or when a dancer blows a whistle or passes his staff or fan over the drum to signal that the song is to be continued four extra pushups while he prays. Singing differs by region in that a high falsetto

468-576: Is a Native American guessing game , in which marked "bones" are concealed in the hands of one team while another team guesses their location. Any number of people can play the Hand Game, but each team (the "hiding" team and the "guessing" team) must have one pointer on each side. The Hand Game is played with two pairs of 'bones', each pair consisting of one plain and one striped bone. ten sticks are used as counters with some variations using additional count sticks such as extra stick or "kick Stick" won by

520-466: Is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or public, indoors or outdoors. Dancing events can be competitive with monetary prizes. Powwows vary in length from single-day to weeklong events. In mainstream American culture, such as 20th-century Western movies or by military personnel,

572-457: Is an individual activity, but there are also couples and group dances. Couples dances include the two step and owl dance . During a two step, each couple follows the lead of the head dancers, forming a line behind them. In contrast, in an owl dance, each couple dances alone. Group dances include the Snake and Buffalo dance, where the group dances to mimic the motions of a snake at the beginning of

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624-439: Is in between the assigned hiders. Or outside with is on the outside of the hiders. For each hider mis-guessed, the calling team must turn over one stick to the hiders. If a hider is guessed he must surrender the guessed bones to the calling side. The side continues hiding and singing until both pairs of bones have been guessed and surrendered. Then the teams reverse roles, and the game continues in this manner until one team holds all

676-584: Is often covered by either a committee-built arbor or tent, or each group, particularly the MC and the drums, will provide their own. While most of the time, a tent provides shelter from the sun, rain can also plague outdoor events. It is particularly important to protect the drums used by the drum groups, as they are sensitive to temperature changes and, if it rains, they cannot get wet. Most vendors provide their own tents or shelters at an outdoor pow wow. Pow-wow etiquette includes guidelines regarding acceptable behavior, such as rules for photography and protocol during

728-492: Is often set up as a series of large circles. The center circle is the dance arena , outside of which is a larger circle consisting of the MC's table, drum groups, and sitting areas for dancers and their families. Beyond these two circles for participants is an area for spectators, while outside of all are designated areas with vendor's booths, where one can buy food, music, jewelry, souvenirs, arts and crafts, beadwork, leather, and regalia supplies. At outdoor pow wows, this circle

780-498: Is particularly evident in intertribal songs, such as the AIM Song , which cannot be biased towards a certain language . The song structure consists of four pushups , singing through the chorus and verse four times. In each chorus, the melody is introduced or led off by the lead singer, who is then seconded by another singer. The second singer begins to vary the melody before the leader's first line ends. They are then joined by

832-715: Is played during traditional gatherings, powwows , tribal celebrations, and more recently in tournaments hosted by individual tribes or Indian organizations. More recent versions of handgame played by tribes in the Northwest added an extra stick, or "kickstick"; this variation was promulgated by the Paiute medicine man Wovoka when he traveled to the Northwest to teach the Ghost Dance . Handgame bones and counting sticks have been identified in ancient anthropological digs. Handgame continues to spread amongst Native American tribes;

884-402: Is used in the north, while in the south, a lower range is used. "To the unfamiliar listener, Indian singing sounds exotic, different, and difficult to comprehend," and the contrast in the quality or timbre of voice used in traditional Indian and European music may have much to do with that difficulty. However, "to the trained ear, melodies flow, ascend and descend" while dancers react to changes in

936-577: The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act classified it as Class I gaming , leaving its regulation to individual tribes. In 2010, Tulalip 's Battle of Nations Stick Game Tournament, the largest handgame tournament to date in the US, attracted 177 teams competing for a $ US 30,000 first prize. Singer Judy Trejo has recorded a CD, Stick Game Songs of the Paiute, on Canyon Records . Powwow A powwow (also pow wow or pow-wow )

988-404: The "Hot Five" method five beats are used, with the first hard beat four beats before the second, after which the beats alternate. To understand drum protocol, a drum may be thought of as a person or being and is to be regarded and respected as such. Drum etiquette is highly important. There are regional variations. The drum is the central symbol of Oklahoma pow wows and is located in the center of

1040-541: The "first" pow wow. Initially, public dances that most resemble what are now known as pow wows were most common in the Great Plains region of the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a time when the United States government destroyed many Native communities in the hopes of acquiring land for economic exploitation. In 1923, Charles H. Burke , Commissioner of Indian Affairs in

1092-439: The "hard beats" used to indicate sections of the song. The "traditional method" consists of a pronounced strike by all singers every other beat. These may appear in the first or second line of a song, the end of a section, before the repetition of a song. A cluster of three hard beats (on consecutive beats) may be used at the end of a series of hard beats, while a few beats in the first line of a song indicate performer enthusiasm. In

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1144-437: The Grand Entry. Common practices emphasize respect for participants and traditions. The clothing worn by participants is referred to as 'regalia' and should not be called a 'costume.' Additionally, certain rules promote courtesy, such as refraining from touching or playing the drums unless one is part of the drum group. It is also important to avoid touching individuals or their regalia without permission. Certain tribes, including

1196-553: The Pascua Yaqui and Hopi, prohibit photography and sketching during ceremonies. A pow-wow session begins with the Grand Entry and a prayer. The Eagle Staff leads the Grand Entry, followed by flags and then the dancers, while one of the host drums performs an opening song. This event is considered sacred, and some pow-wows prohibit filming or photography during this time, though others permit it. When military veterans or active duty service members are present, they are often given

1248-487: The United States, passed legislation modeled on Circular 1665, which he published in 1921. This legislation restricted the times of the year in which Native Americans could practice traditional dance, which Burke deemed as a direct threat to the Christian religion. However, many Native communities continued to gather together in secret to practice their cultures' dance and music in defiance of this and other legislation. By

1300-424: The counters. The game is usually accompanied by drumming and singing to boost the morale of the team. The side that has the bones sings, while the other tries to guess. The musical accompaniment is also sometimes used to taunt the other team. Modern Slahal is now open to all genders and takes place at summer festivals that run from May to mid-July. Slahal games can begin around early afternoon and end late at night or

1352-421: The dance floor and pow wow (which are themselves shaped in concentric circles). Southern drums are suspended by four posts, one for each direction. Northern drums are set up on the outside of the dance area, with the host drum in the best position. Drummer-singers are expected to remain at their drum and ready to sing at any moment's notice; a dancer might approach the drum and whistle, fan, or gesture his staff over

1404-523: The dance, then changes to mimic the actions of a herd of buffalo. At pow wows, where there is a large Southern Plains community in the area, the Gourd Dance is often included before the start of the pow wow sessions. The gourd dance originated with the Kiowa tribe and spread from there. It is a society dance for veterans and their families. Unlike other dances, the gourd dance is normally performed with

1456-462: The drum in the center of the dance arena, not on the side. Though there are many genres unique to different tribes , pow wow music is characterized by pan or intertribalism with the Plains cultures , the originators of the modern pow wow, predominating. For information on dancing, see Dances . There may be many drums at a pow wow, especially weekend or week-long ones, but each pow wow features

1508-409: The entire chorus for the rest of the pushup. Three down strokes or hard beats mark the end of the chorus and beginning of the verse, and during these dancers will alter their dancing such as by hopping low like fancy dancers. An increase in tempo and volume on the last five beats marks the end of the final verse. The dancing stops on the final beat and then a tail , or coda , finishes the song with

1560-406: The game prior to its beginning and they consisted of items like money, canoes, watches, ponies, coats, shirts, etc. Once the two teams were decided, they lined up in two parallel rows facing one another that measured fifteen feet apart and sometimes aligned so they were in an east-west position. The players who were established as the mixers were seated in front of their teams. The row of people behind

1612-418: The game. Now the leader begins the mixing and after a minute they toss the pairs of counters to two players (of their choosing) on their team to continue mixing. The second phase of mixing is much like the past version as it is more concealed. Once the mixing is completed the hands concealing the counters are held out for the opposing team’s leader to make a guess. In modern gameplay, team leaders try to guess for

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1664-433: The head staff is an honor, showing respect for the person's skills or dedication. The master of ceremonies , or MC, is the voice of the pow wow. It is his job to keep the singers, dancers, and public informed as to what is happening. The MC sets the schedule of events and maintains the drum rotation , or order of when each drum group gets to sing. The MC is also responsible for filling any dead air time that may occur during

1716-410: The head staff, publicizing the powwow, securing a location, and recruiting vendors who pay for the right to set up and sell food or merchandise at the powwow. The head staff of a pow-wow are the people who run the event on the day or days it occurs. They are generally hired by the powwow committee several months in advance, as the quality of the head staff can affect attendance. To be chosen as part of

1768-560: The history of drumming as each group understands it. The drum is offered gifts of tobacco during giveaways and musicians acknowledge this by standing. While the drum is central to pow wows, "the drum only helps them keep beat. Dancers key on the melody of the song. Rhythms , tones, pitch all help create their ' moves '." (p. 85) Note that Bill Runs Above did not mention the lyrics of the songs, and while they are no doubt important, most lyrics of most songs employ vocables , syllable sounds such as "ya," "hey," and "loi" (p. 86). This

1820-431: The honor for carrying the flags and eagle staffs. These individuals are followed by the head dancers, after which the remaining dancers typically enter the arena in a designated order: Men's Traditional, Men's Grass Dance, Men's Fancy, Women's Traditional, Women's Jingle, and Women's Fancy. This sequence is then followed by teens and small children in the same order. After the Grand Entry, the master of ceremonies (MC) invites

1872-478: The lower foreleg of a deer or a horse shank, while wood counters were created from ashwood or green alder trees. The bone counters were designed to be held lengthwise inside players' fists, and were either blank or marked with red or black bands around their circumference. Modern Slahal also uses two pairs of playing objects that are painted with black or red designs, though wood is more commonly used than bone. Handgame Handgame , also known as stickgame ,

1924-544: The mid-1970s, women began drumming with men and seconding , or singing, an octave higher, the song. Today, there are mixed-gender and all-female drum groups. The supplies a drum group carries include the drum, rawhide headed, a cloth bag for padded drum sticks, the drum stand, folding chairs for sitting, and, in some cases, a public address system. The drum head, stand, microphone stands, and PA box are often decorated with paintings or eagle feathers, fur, flags, and strips of colored cloth. Readily noticeable in performances are

1976-462: The mid-twentieth century, powwows were also being held in the Great Lakes region. Planning for a powwow generally begins months, perhaps even a year, before the event by a group of people usually referred to as a powwow committee. Pow wows may be sponsored by a tribal organization, an American Native community within an urban area, a Native American Studies program, or an American Native club on

2028-432: The mixers were their supporters and behind them were the spectators who all stood during the game. The objective of Slahal is for the appointed team leader to guess which of the opponent’s hands the chosen counter is concealed in. The leader does so by using his own hand to gesture in a quick manner towards which hand he thinks the opposing team has hidden the counter. Teams did this back and forth until one team had won all of

2080-418: The morning of the next day. As with historical Slahal, wagers are placed before the game is allowed to begin. Modern wagers are in legal tender and range from one to ten dollars, and an addition to modern Slahal is the role of a bookkeeper (typically one of the female players) who keeps track of the wagers. The first phase of the mixing of the counters is much more openly done compared to the historical version of

2132-431: The olden days, in fact they would play to settle disagreements amongst one another. And they would also play for items like bullets and clothing and hides. Handgame predates recorded history. The oral tradition tells us that people originally learned Handgame from the animals. Historical documentation states that games were once played for land use and female companionship, and later on for horses and cattle. Today, handgame

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2184-406: The opening and closing of a pow wow session, the most common is the intertribal , where a Drum will sing a song, and anyone who wants to can come and dance. Similar dances are the round dance ; crow hop when performed by a northern drum or a horse stealing song by a southern drum; there is also "double beat", "sneakup" and, for Women's Traditional and Jingle, "sidestep". Each of these songs have

2236-401: The pattern of the hidden bones. Since each hider holds one plain and one striped bone in each hand, there are initially four possibilities: both to the left, both to the right, both inside, or both outside. A gesture with a stick or hand generally accompanies each call the signs for these are to the left, which is to both hiders left. to the right, which is to both hiders right. In the middle with

2288-466: The plain bone. The two teams, one "hiding" and one "guessing," sit opposite one another; two members of the "hiding" team take a pair of bones and hide them, one in each hand, while the team sings, and uses traditional instruments (drums, sticks, shakers), and attempts to distract the "guessing" team. The leader or 'Captain' of the "guessing" team, or a team member selected by the Captain, then must guess

2340-565: The pow wow, often with jokes. The MC often runs any raffles or other contests that may happen during the pow wow. The head dancers consist of the Head Man Dancer and the Head Woman Dancer, and often Head Teen Dancers, Head Little Boy and Girl Dancers, Head Golden Age Dancers, and a Head Gourd Dancer if the pow wow has a Gourd Dance . The head dancers lead the other dancers in the grand entry or parade of dancers that opens

2392-483: The pow-wow, they also perform a flag song, retreat song, and a closing song. Additionally, if a pow-wow has gourd dancing, the Southern Host Drum is often the drum that sings all the gourd songs, though another drum can perform them. The host drums are often called upon to sing special songs during the pow-wow. Famous host drums include Black Lodge Singers , Cozad Singers , and Yellowhammer . A pow wow

2444-529: The reaffirmation of Indian identity.” Slahal is also known as the bone game, hand game, bloodless war game, or handgame . It a different name in each individual Coast Salish language. For example, it is called slehà:l in Halkomelem . Historically, Slahal was mostly played by adult men, but some research indicates that young adult boys and women played as well. Games typically had only two players but could be played with larger teams. Wagers were placed on

2496-418: The starting team. The "raw" or "uncooked" counting sticks will be divided evenly between both opposing teams. Different rules such as which bone will be guessed, the plain or striped bone, is determined by the traditional format of the tribe or region - the plain bone or the striped bone. California, Oklahoma, and Dakota Indians generally call for the striped bone, where as most other tribes prefer to guess for

2548-407: The sticks. How the betting is factored in is tribes will play against one another for material items such as beaded material, fabrics, flour, but most of the time money is wagered on the handgames. How that works is if someone challenges another person for $ 50 the other person would cover that bet and the winner would receive $ 100 total. his/her 50, and the challengers 50. The handgames go way back to

2600-466: The structure of the melody and the song. Boye Ladd says, "If you give me a stink song, I'll dance stink. If you give me good music, I'll give you a great show," implying that one can appreciate the music through the dancing, which is readily appreciated by everyone. But others say that today's contemporary contest dancers should dance their best no matter how well or poorly the drum group singing for their contest is. Generally, Native American singing follows

2652-485: The term powwow was used to refer to any type of meeting. This usage is now considered by some Native Americans to be an offensive case of appropriation because of the cultural significance powwows hold. The word powwow is derived from the Narragansett word powwaw , meaning "spiritual leader." The term has variants, including Powaw , Pawaw , Powah, Pauwau and Pawau . A number of nations claim to have held

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2704-445: The unmarked counters. This process continues between the two teams as they alternate being the mixing team, depending on if they won the round or not. The winner is determined when a team is able to obtain all the counter or tally pieces. The playing objects were made in pairs and a total of two pairs made a set, four objects in total. Slahal was typically played with a small sticks, stones, or pieces of bone. Bone counters were made from

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