The Men's Grass Dance Much has been written about the Grass or Omaha Dance. Borrowed from the Omaha tribe, perhaps in the 1860's, the Grass Dance is very popular. Dancers' outfits feature a good deal of colorful fringe, replacing the grasses that dancers originally tucked into their belts. Many dancers wear the hair roach, the crow-belt and the Eagle-bone whistle, which were originally emblems of the Omaha Society. The basic step of the Omaha Dance involves the ball of one foot being tapped on one beat and placed down flatly with the next, repeating the action on the opposite foot without missing a beat. Each time the foot is placed flatly on the ground, the weight shifts to that foot. Dancers should keep their heads moving either up and down with the beat of the drum, nodding quickly, several times to each beat, or moving constantly as is the sign of a good dancer. Although the Omaha is a freestyle type of dancing, dancers must follow the changing beat of the drum and stop when the music does, with both feet on the ground. 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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