The Men's Traditional Dance The men's Traditional Dance is just that: a traditional dance held over from times when war parties would return to the village and "dance out" the story of battle, or hunters would return and dance their story of tracking an enemy or prey. The outfit of the traditional dancer is more subdued in color than the other dancers' outfits. The outfits are frequently decorated with bead and quill work, and traditional dancers wear a circular bustle of Eagle feathers, representing cycles and the unity of everything. The Eagle feather spikes on the bustle point upward, representing a channel between the Great Spirit and all things on earth. The traditional dancers are usually veterans and carry, as they dance, many traditional items that symbolize their status as warriors. Traditional dancers carry shields, weapons, honor staffs (used to challenge the enemy and decorated with Eagle feathers representing achievements in battle) and medicine wheels (carried as a reminder of the wisdom of the four directions, unity, and for the cycle of all things in the universe.) The traditional warrior dance step is done with the ball of the foot touching the ground on the first beat, and the whole foot on the second beat. 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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