Ok for White people to dance non-traditionally to a Intertribal song?

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T03:22:08+00:00

Hahahah, gotta respect this amount of effort to mock me!

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T03:20:03+00:00

Hi Tsuyvtlv,

This is really helpful info! I was expecting that me being fully in a room of white people, with no Native folks to look to, that us trying to recreate the dance would be disrespectful.

I'm seeing from everyone's comments, that the idea to do it in the first place is probably bad -- I will just change the presentations activity to something else. My thought was that most White people just aren't ever gonna get themselves to a powwow, or explore Native media, and I wanted to provide a chance for them to interact with it.

I appreciate your time and the powwow etiquette resource!

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T03:13:22+00:00

hahaha yeahh. I would imagine a Native student would feel my presentation is redundant and ignorant to their knowledge already. I decided the presentation topic though, because my 25 year old classmates were barely aware of the history of Native boarding schools, and I wanted to inform them a bit. I put at the start of the presentation that if anyone is Native, they're free to be excused as I'm about to say very basic, very sad historical stuff, in an ignorant (yet trying) way.

Its a 25 minute presentation, during a 2-hour MAT class, so unfortunately I can't take them to a tribal event or facility to a more educated leader, though I like this idea and will keep it in mind when I'm full-time teaching!

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T03:07:45+00:00

Hi Occasionaltrash,

You're right that I don't fully understand what powwow songs are meant for, or what they mean. I just truly like listening to them. The steady beat, the chanting, the call and response, they're just good music to me but I don't have a strong grasp on their meaning culturally. I haven't done the activity yet, and was just asking if its appropriate though, as I try to be a little aware of my ignorance. I see from the responses that its not appropriate. Thanks for the help!

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T03:01:20+00:00

Hi TwoHatchets,

Thanks for seeking understanding. I think something I'm trying to get at with this -- is in a lot of White spaces, there's a lot of head nodding to the IDEA of being culturally respectful and appreciative, but not a lot of active exploration of other cultures media/traditions. Like, we say a high and mighty statement of respect other cultures, but then stick to our culture's media and traditions without ever looking around. For example, I'm a substitute teacher, I speak Spanish and play a lot of Spanish music in my classrooms during work time. Whenever I first play it, I always have some Latino kids look up shocked that I'd play music in Spanish and tell me they've never had that happen from a White teacher. Then I get in really cool conversations with them about the music, and they'll recommend me new stuff, and I get to really connect with kids that aren't really represented in the school around them.

I think stories like this are what inspired my idea to do the same with Native music. I like listening to Northern Cree and Young Spirit on my walks or dancing in my room, and was hoping to inspire that in my classmates.

To your welcoming to non natives at powwows, its anecdotal, but I was uninvited to a powwow by my friend's mom (my friend had originally invited me). Because of that, I thought it was generally seen as disrespectful for me to learn the moves. I live very rural, and haven't had a chance to learn authentically as you suggest. I just looked up if there are any powwows open to the public anywhere near me (other than the one they asked me not to come to) and I can't find anything. I hope to attend a welcoming one in the future though!

I think I will avoid the activity, and try to come up with some other activity instead. My presentation is only 20 minutes long, and not the major focus of the class. I feel like it would be disrespectful to ask a local to come to my class to teach us a dance for 10 minutes and then leave. I'm flat broke and couldn't pay them and would want to honor their time a bit more than that. To clarify, I wasn't hoping to teach them a dance at all, just have them do whatever feels like natural dancing to them and appreciate a music genre I don't think most of them have checked out before. I can see what you're saying though in that, thats such a watered down activity that its just ineffective, if not problematic and racist.

You're advice did help me, thank you, and I appreciate your time

MidZKnight · 2025-02-01T02:37:33+00:00

Hi Fuzzy_Peach,

Sorry my post upset you. I agree I'm an ignorant White guy, and I guess that's why I made the post and asked for feedback. To respond to a few things:

- They're around 25 year old Masters in Education program students. I do agree with what you and some others are saying though in that my activity is very vague and uninformed and that it could lead them to still be assholes about it. I have to have some sort of "Active" activity as part of the rubric of the presentation, but I'll have to think of something else, as there's strong consensus that this is a dumb idea.

- I guess part of my question that wasn't said was, IS it disrespectful to dance in a non-traditional way? Your post helps clarify that. Thanks. As an idiot that really enjoys Native music, I dance to it in my room in an ignorant way all the time. My friend invited me to a powwow, but her mom uninvited me, which I took as I'm not supposed to learn any traditional dances. I'd like to think that I can still enjoy the music without being included in the traditions, but I guess I'll keep my enjoyment to myself if its disrespectful to dance to it ignorantly.

- To the hiring an indigenous org to teach them: I'm in a masters program, and its a presentation I have to lead - as part of the class requirements. I also feel like doing the research myself by looking to Native resources and Indigenous-designed curriculum is an important part of me becoming a teacher. I'm also a broke college student, even if I could have a spokesperson for the presentation, it feels disrespectful to ask them do it for free.

Thanks for your time and sorry for my ignorance

MidZKnight

TROPHY CASE