Every year Austinites look forward to the event called the Annual Austin Powwow and American Indian Heritage Festival at Sunset Valley (Toney Burger Center) on the first Saturday in November. It's one of Austin's finest gatherings!

The dances go on all day. Starting at 10 am, spectators can sit in the arena seats and watch various stages of native American dancing. Here is a list of favorites to watch for.

• Men's Traditional Dance - a way for returning warriors to tell the tribe what happens on a hunt or in a battle. The dancers paint their faces to strike fear into their opponents.
• Men's Straight Dance - a hunting dance to show how to look for prey. The headgear of an animal is common. Dramatic interpretation scores high with the judges.
• Men's Grass Dance - The plains tribes first made this dance popular and they used long fringed regalia to simulate the tall grasses in which the prey hide. Sometimes they wear bells to simulate the sounds of the grass.
• Women's Buckskin Dance - Very fashionable, expensive, labor intensive dresses of buckskin adorn the dancers. Long fringe emphasizes the movement of the dance. The women are beautiful and dip and sway in time to the drum.
• Women's Southern Cloth - Traditional, colorful dresses passed down through the ages from different tribes. This is a graceful slow dance that expert performers do. It does not look very exiting, but it takes skill to make the regalia and body move in the exact time of the drum.
• Men's Fancy Dance - Oh yea! This is the big one! Neon colors abound! Bright bustles, sparkly things, mirrors, fringe! Usually the really athletic members of the tribe do this dance as there are many spins and jumps. But the trick is to stay in time with the drum and stop completely on the last beat!
• Women's Jingle Dress - The lady's equivalent of the fancy dance. The dancers wear metal cones that jingle and make sounds like rain on a tin roof. It is considered a healing dance that improves health.
• Junior Boys and Girls and Tiny Tots Dance - Yes, the children get in on the powwow too! Lovely regalia made by their tribes to show off the young tribal members.
• Women's Fancy Shawl Dance - A dance with a tragic story at its core. Started by a Lakota lady grieving for a fallen warrior. Now the dance is widely accepted for women of various tribes.
  

Do:

• Enjoy yourself!
• Dance in the group when called down for a Blanket Dance
• Take photographs - ask permission before taking close ups
• Be respectful
• Invite your friends

Don't:

• Block the view of others or stand on the rail
• Touch the dancers or their regalia (feathers are fragile and sacred)
• Use flash photography during formal competitions (it distracts the dancers)
• Smoke or drink alcoholic beverages (this is a family event on school property)
• Litter - Clean up the immediate area

Often there is a story telling tent. It's a great place to sit and listen to American Indian stories about growing up as a member of the first American tribe. These stories have much cultural anecdotes and sometimes the story teller will play a flute or act out animal behavior. Great for kids!  Various tribes tell many variations of the same kind of story which illustrates cultural differences.

Arts and Crafts Vendors abound! There is so much art that you will want to buy everything.  There are carvings of every animal in nature.  Mediums include wood, coral, marble, quartz, canvas and more. Feather work items are on display. Weaving and textiles show up as blankets, drum coverings, wall art and more. Leather and silver items are common. Jewelry shows up in every conceivable form. Hand made items are usually of top quality.  Often the arts and crafts have a native American story attached.  Designs have tribal meanings, so ask!

The event itself is sponsored and official T-shirts, mugs, and other items are available. Don't forget to buy a program! Lots of good information and photos are in there.

Maybe the best part of this festival is the food! There is so much to try and all of it is delicious! Favorites include:

• Roasted Turkey Legs
• Buffalo Burgers
• Indian and Navajo Tacos
• Roasted Corn
• Fry bread - recipe to follow
• Funnel Cakes
• Buffalo Chili
• Meat Pies
• Jerky
• Sausage and Chicken sticks
• Kettle Corn
• Lemonade

Fry Bread Recipe:

• 4 cups flour
• 2 T Baking Powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 c. shortening or lard
• 1 c. warm water

Mix the dry ingredients. Gradually add in the shortening and water just until dough sticks together. Knead dough into fist sized balls and cover for 10 minutes to rest. Pat the balls out into circles about the size of a pancake. Fry in hot oil until brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and top with just about anything!

• That there is a lot of variation in culture and languages in American Indian Tribes
• Indians do not all live in reservations, tipi's, or hogans
• Indians wear many hair styles, not all of them wear braids
• Many Native Americans vote and hold public offices in the United States
• There are 511 culturally distinct recognized tribes of Native Americans and 200 or so unrecognized tribes
• Indians made many contributions to life as we know it today in the U.S.
• Native American religious practices are not for display or commercialization, they take their spiritualism very seriously, just as other religions do.
  

Many of us have Indian Blood or claim to. Almost everyone will claim some Lakota, Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, Choctaw, or Chickasaw blood in their ancestry. Is there a way to know for sure?

Research your family tree. Find out who, if anyone in your ancestry was a real first American.

National Geographic did a study on the DNA of Native Americans. You can have yours analyzed and compared with the 6 original mothers.

Perhaps there are old photos in your grandparent's attic that show a familial relationship with Native Americans

After reading this article, do you think you will attend a First American Pow Wow in the future? Let me know your thoughts on this.

If there is more you wish to know about Native American Dance or history or culture, please ask.

If you have an interesting story or something else you would like to contribute, please add your comments below.

Or, tell us about your tribe!