The Honor Song Spectators should always stand and remove caps or hats when an Honor song is being sung. As the name suggests, Honor Songs are requested at the Powwow/celebration to honor someone. Perhaps a family would request an Honor Song for a son returned from the war, or in the memory of a deceased relative. Honor Songs can be made for almost any occasion. In some traditions, people with an Indian name have their own songs, and those songs are sung if the person is to be honored. In other instances there are "generic" Honor Songs for people without their own. A request to have an Honor Song for someone should be made before the Powwow/celebration, but that's not always possible. Anyone wanting an Honor Song done should go to the announcer stand with the request, and someone from the Powwow committee works with the arena director to decide when the song would be performed and by which drum. If a drum is present from the honored person's home, or if they have a favorite drum, the drum could be requested to perform the song. It is customary for the person requesting the song to gift the drum for performing the song. It should be noted that powwow practices vary from region to region in United States and Canada. Sincere thanks and acknowledgment to the American Indian Education Committee of the Minnesota State Board of Education who sponsored those who wrote the Ojibwe content of this unit.

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