Grand Entry is part of the pow wow, where an honored guest brings into the arena the United States Flag, customarily the State Flag, Tribal Affiliated Flag and also the Native American Staff can be used during the grand entry. Dancers come into the arena with the head staff leading the parade of dancing, the princess followed by the all other dancers. The order is from the adult dancers to the tiny tots. At our pow wow only the American Flag was represented. The Native American 'Flag' or as customarily called the Staff, is usually made out of wood and consist of eagle feathers, beadwork, and or carvings.

The staff is usually made for the family, organizations, or tribal affiliations that are recognized as hosting pow wows. Just as the United States Flag is a sacred part of the American life so is the Staff to the Native American Indians from the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.

Traditions In The Making arrived from the many pow wows that I have attended. I noticed how the children and babies dance and dance, looking up to the elders, watching their steps, moves, and learning to follow their style of dancing.

The most important part of a pow wow is the drum. The entire powwow revolves around the drum. It is considered the heartbeat of Mother Earth. Two different style of singing are normally present at a pow wow, the northern singers and the southern singers.

This is a fancy dancer. This style of dancing is the most popular for spectators to watch not only at the Traditions In The Making Pow Wow but at all pow wows. The fancy dancers are known for their colorful use of large feather bustles. Currently most bustles are color-coordinated with the beadwork by using large amounts of feather hackles dyed the appropriate colors. I enjoy watching the men dance to the trick songs, their footwork to the fast songs are amazing, as the dancer's keep up with the beat of the drum. There are two types of dance styles, a basic simple step while dancing around the drum and a "contest" step with fast and intricate footwork combined with a spinning up and down movement of the body.

The northern traditional dancer was represented at the '98 pow wow. It is customarily to show respect for traditional dancers as they represent the cultural of their tribes. The straight dancer or southern traditional is the other style of traditional dancing that was not represented at our pow wow. It must be stressed that variations do exist from area to area and from tribe to tribe; and that careful observation and research be undertaken before starting to construct this type outfit. Most of the traditional dancer's bustle is made of eagle feathers, one of the main reason for observance to the dancers.

There are two styles of traditional dancing for the women, the Northern and Southern Traditional. The Women Traditional Dancing is the most graceful sight to see with their colorful regalias showing their beautiful beadwork. The women's regalia is made either out of buckskin or with cloth material. At the '98 pow wow, we were happy to see several traditional dancers in the women, teen and junior categories.

Fancy Shawl dancers show energy and flare of their shawls as they dance to the drum. This style of dancing normally attracts a lot of contestants ranging from tiny tots to adults. The most exciting event for me to watch is the young children learning to dance as the young girl on the right dances fancy shawl. She is a champion in the making as well as the Jingle Dress dancers in the middle. This style of dancing is very popular for the young girls.