Red Lake Dancer
By John L. Peyton
The Ojibwe at Red Lake, Minnesota have been dancing as far back as anybody can remember. They have a powwow every week through the summer and a big one on the 4th of July, attended by Indian dancers from all over the country.
This practice used to worry the missionaries. There were, are still are, some pagan Ojibwe living on Ponema Point across the lake, and it was felt that there might be some connection between the powwows and their stubborn insistence on sticking to the old-time religion. So both the church people and the government did their best to stop the dancing. They never succeeded, and now it has the official blessing.
The figure is a Minneapolis Indian. His costume is factory-made and cost him plenty: maybe close to a thousand dollars in 1970. He’s a good dancer. And so are the local people, many of whom dance in wrinkled dresses or old overalls.
The drums keep on beating night and day for three days, and all that time people are dancing. The costumes may be made in Connecticut or Japan, but the dance is the real thing. Visitors are made to feel welcome, and more people should get up to Red Lake to see it. It’s a thrill to watch several hundred dancers stamping out the rhythm, especially when you remember that this is something that reaches back through the centuries.
Go to "Red Lake Dancers" Painting now...
Red Lake Dancer
By John L. Peyton
The Ojibwe at Red Lake, Minnesota have been dancing as far back as anybody can remember. They have a powwow every week through the summer and a big one on the 4th of July, attended by Indian dancers from all over the country.
This practice used to worry the missionaries. There were, are still are, some pagan Ojibwe living on Ponema Point across the lake, and it was felt that there might be some connection between the powwows and their stubborn insistence on sticking to the old-time religion. So both the church people and the government did their best to stop the dancing. They never succeeded, and now it has the official blessing.
The figure is a Minneapolis Indian. His costume is factory-made and cost him plenty: maybe close to a thousand dollars in 1970. He’s a good dancer. And so are the local people, many of whom dance in wrinkled dresses or old overalls.
The drums keep on beating night and day for three days, and all that time people are dancing. The costumes may be made in Connecticut or Japan, but the dance is the real thing. Visitors are made to feel welcome, and more people should get up to Red Lake to see it. It’s a thrill to watch several hundred dancers stamping out the rhythm, especially when you remember that this is something that reaches back through the centuries.
Go to "Red Lake Dancers" Painting now...