THE HEALING DANCE: Powwows succeed with help from the arena director

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Every powwow poses its own challenges and needs someone well versed in protocol to smooth out the bumps, keep the momentum going, and help organize the flow. That is where the job of an experienced arena director comes in.

"It's my job as arena director to make sure that things go smoothly, that people are enjoying themselves and the dancers are happy," said Brent Dillon. "If things are going smoothly and people are happy, dancers often come up after a big dance-off and give the arena staff a pat on the back, say thanks. It's something that makes all the hard work worthwhile."

The first national powwow that was held in Edmonton last year was a good example of the kind of job an arena director faces. A joint effort by 36 bands in Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, this indoor extravaganza presented some interesting problems.

"The hardest part was lining up the grand entries with so many dancers and so little space. There were also a lot of eagle staffs coming in. Our job was to make to make sure we had the right people to carry them, our headmen and chiefs.

"With so many dancers, we also had to split up the categories to give each dancer an equal chance to be seen by the judges. We solved problems as they came up and everything went very well," said Dillon.

Dillon, who took his BA in education in the early 1980s, transferring from the classroom to Cree curriculum development for the Onion Lake band, has been an arena director for 15 years.

"I didn't start off with any plan to be an arena director, not in my wildest dreams. As a former powwow dancer, I had lost a brother I really cared for and admired. I was also married with babies at the time and because of these things, gave up dancing and singing. As my kids grew up, powwow was still there and my wife Cecilia and I started our kids dancing and competing. I got used to sitting in the stands, watching, and coaching the children.

"It was at a powwow in Beaver Lake that a respected Elder, Philip Cardinal, came up to me, gave me some tobacco and asked me to help him out. After four years of learning from him, he gave me my own stick in a little ceremony, gave me the right to be an arena director. That's where it started. He taught me about protocol, how to use the stick and I haven't stopped in all these years."

The job of arena director developed from the position of ceremonial whipman, who was usually an old man who had a great deal of knowledge of how things should be run, highly esteemed and totally respected by the children. With whip-stick in hand he would keep children from running around lodges and disrupting sacred ceremonies. The job survives today in some sun dance ceremonies and has taken on a fresh new life in the powwow arbor.

As a youngster, Brent Dillon, the son of Mary and Eric Dillon (a former powwow emcee), had grown up travelling the circuit with his family, through Western Canada and "across the line" to Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and the Dakotas. Traditional powwow is not just in his blood. It's also in his heart.

"The essence of today's powwow is that it is a healing dance, something that was explained to me by an Elder I used to sit with. An arena director is not just responsible for the all-over co-ordination of events and agenda throughout the day, there is also the safe keeping of correct protocol and ceremony, the proper handling of cultural ornaments like feathers and whistles, and the need to keep a sense of fair play, making sure that all drums and dancers are being treated equally and with respect."

Fine-tuning the whole layout of the powwow arbor is also an important part of the job.

"Things have to be done right, the laying out of the turf, making sure the lights are working, and that the sound system is in order. We make sure that the arbor is really clean so people don't get hurt or trip over things. We have to remember to keep Mother Earth clean. I don't mind picking garbage."

Another duty of the arena director is to tr to please everybody. Not always an easy task, explained Dillon.

"We have to pick judges in competition powwow, trying not to get the same judge twice in the same dance, looking for expertise and lots of variety for the sake of fairness.

"As far as correct protocol goes, we have to deal with mishaps over cultural ornaments - picking up fans, feathers and controlling whistles. There are currently two kinds of whistles in use, the Witickan [Warriors Society] healing whistle, and the Loon whistle of the Grass Dance Society. Someone usually offers the whistle blower tobacco and the whistle is blown four times to sustain the drum through a song. Good, respectable whistle blowers use the instrument sparingly. Incorrect usage must be controlled. If a dancer isn't behaving, the arena director must sometimes settle disputes, deal with protests and work as mediators. We try to make friends. They respect you that way. We have to make sure that all drums have their songs and are being treated equally. Sometimes we have to skip drums to find appropriate songs, especially in high level competition. I don't like doing that but sometimes dancers need to dance to certain songs. You have to make sure that the drummers know these songs," said Dillon.

Dillon also has to deal with subtle cultural nuances that differ from reserve to reserve and nation to nation.

"Lakota people value some types of feathers more than others and have different morning ceremonies. Even among my own people, the Plains Cree, customs differ from area to area. If I am not sure about something, I try to find someone who does know, give them tobacco and ask them to explain it to me, pass on the knowledge of their culture.

"As an arena director, I've had a few people give me tobacco and ask me to show them how to arena direct, to help them to learn and understand the protocol and give them more experience. After a while they become more knowledgeable and, just like the Elder Philip Cardinal did with me, I continueto show them, teach them about ceremonies, how to do family specials, help open the doors for them."

Another important job for the arena director is that of cultural ambassador for non-Native visitors.

"More and more today, non-Natives are attending powwows, people from all over the world. They are told that at certain times their cameras must be put away, their tape recorders turned off when certain ceremonies are being done. I guess they must wonder, especially when everything stops at the powwow to pick up a feather.

"All birds drop feathers. Some people are entitled to pick them up. There are different interpretations as to why they fall. There has to be a prayer. The arena director goes to the fallen feather and guards it until it is picked up. Children, especially, shouldn't pick up feathers. If visitors want to know more about it, there are people they can ask."

One of the more recent developments in today's powwow is that pipe ceremonies, which used to be done inside the arbor, are now being held outside in a ceremonial lodge or tipi. This is partly because of the larger numbers of people coming to powwow.

"There are a lot of things that shouldn't be allowed near a ceremonial lodge: people drunk or on drugs, women on their moon time, children playing or fooling around. I do like to give the kids a chance, even those without dance outfits, encourage them to join in the intertribals and participate, as long as they don't run around."

Powwow, like any great culture or art form, is always evolving.

"Today we have the high profile, high pressure competitive powwow, as well as the more laid back traditional powwow where every dancer gets an honorarium. There are contemporary dance forms, as well as ancient and traditional, with new categories emerging all the time. It has been my experience that families putting on specials tend to want the old time dance forms. The grass dance is a good example. The old style grass dancer tries to move to the rhythm of the blowig grass on the prairies. The contemporary grass dancers are still imitating the grass, but on a much windier day. Part of my job as an arena director is to help maintain the respect and balance between the old and the new... and get everybody involved."

An arena director has to have a keen sense of humor and think fast on his feet.

"Some of the best moments are humorous," said Dillon. "Like when we get the emcee out there dancing in front of everybody (after picking on the arena director) or bringing in non-Natives, drummers or guests from the audience who have never danced before. That's what it's all about in powwow country, sharing our culture, joining in the healing dance."