Portrait of Chelsey Dillon - Fancy shawl dancer and beadworker

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Life on the powwow trail can be fun - especially when your dad is a well- known arena director at some of the biggest powwows in Canada.

As a junior dancer, you also get to travel a lot in the summer, to see different towns and reserves and meet tons of other kids - kids just like yourself - out following the powwow trail with their moms, dads, brothers and sisters.

It's the kind of life she "wouldn't trade for anything," nine-year-old Chelsey Dillon said. A student at Chief Taylor School in Onion Lake First Nation, she is the youngest member of a very traditional Cree family that lives, breathes and dances powwow.

Chelsey, who cuts a colorful and elegant figure among the young ladies in the junior fancy shawl dance category, is the first to admit that there is a lot of hard work and training behind her fast paced moves and whirling steps.

Her dancing, like her regalia, is part of a family tradition that spans more than five generations. Initiated into the circle at an early age, she has been dancing ever since she first began to walk.

"I learned my moves, fast steps and fancy footwork from my sister Cheryl, who was trained by my mom. Together, they also hand-stitched my beaded leggings, leather moccasins, dresses, shawls and vests," said Chelsey.

Her Old Plains style high-top moccasins are hand-beaded with the "lazy stitch" technique creating geometric patterns that match the swirling ribbons on her shawl. Over her shawl, she wears a rare, antique cape that belonged to her great-great grandmother, Mary Fox. The cape is stitched and beaded in the Old Woodland floral style.

"Moccasins feel good, lighter, and very comfortable to dance in, better than joggers. I really like to dance in my great-great grandmother's cape and show off my long ribbons and flying moves. I dance harder when I see my family watching me. I'm lucky because my brother and sister help me a lot, teach me new moves. My big sister likes to practice fancy braiding on my hair to give me my own special look. She puts soft white owl plumes in my braids along with beaded barrettes, ribbons and hair ties."

Chelsey makes her own chokers, bracelets and belts on a small beading loom. The bead widths vary in number and loomwork patterns can be simple or complicated. Sometimes she follows a traditional design and sometimes she creates her own, as she deftly weaves hundreds of rows of tiny glass beads through the warp and weft of the threads.

"She likes to wear her own hand-woven pieces at round dances. Traditional women and young girls wear formal dresses to round dances because they are cultural gatherings. She wears her joggers with a dress because it's usually too muddy or snowy for moccasins. "We don't put eagle feathers on her yet, she's too young," explained her mother, Cecilia Dillon.

Chelsey keeps in shape for powwow by practicing figure skating and running in track and field. Her dancing style is "a good fast dance, with the best moves and fanciest footwork of all the women's dances," said her dad, Brent Dillon.

"Fancy shawl is the hardest of all the women's dances, whirling and bouncing to the drum beats. Different First Nations have different interpretations of the steps, based on the dance of a butterfly. In existence as a contemporary dance for the last 20 or 30 years, it was preceded by a slower, more dignified shawl dance for women, but has just recently escalated into a really fast, really fancy dance. Times have changed and we have to change with the times," said the proud father. "On the other hand, we do plan to make an old time, traditional leather outfit for her, decorated with crow beads, but it does take a lot of time to tan hides."

Chelsey feels very lucky to be a fancy shawl dancer and travel as much as she does.

"I see so many kids at powwows who aren't dancing yet. I feel very happy and lucky to be a dancer. It's fun to win a competition or two each year, but mostly I just like to dance."