First Nations

• Inuvialuitdrum dancing: After the arrival of Europeans in Inuvialuit territory, many traditional songs and dances, which were used to recount legends at gatherings, were lost. The Inuvik Drummers and Dancers, guided by community elders like Martha Harry, have worked hard in recent years to re-learn the art of drum dancing. The hunting seal song, the whale tail and the kayak song are three of the drum dances now performed. Some of the movements are representations of harpooning and kayaking gestures; another common move features outstretched arms, resembling wings. The drums, made from ivory, caribou skin, wood and sinew, are played by being rotated and hit on the top, bottom and rim.
  
  
• Iroquois dances: Among the traditional social dances of the Iroquois, called earth songs, are the robin dance, the duck dance, the alligator dance, the friendship dance and the smoke dance. These are danced at any time, for no reason other than enjoyment. There are also sacred dances that give thanks to the creator, and are performed at ceremonies, the timing of which depends on the cycles of the moon, when the shortest or longest day of the year occurs or other environmental factors.
  
  
• Potlatch dances: For over fifteen thousand years, the Haida and other Pacific Northwest coastal tribes performed dances at their potlatches. Potlatches occurred throughout the year to commemorate births, deaths, the naming of new chiefs, the raising of totem poles or houses, or the acquisition of inheritances. These celebrations could last for weeks and hundreds of people might attend, with many gifts exchanged between families.
  
  
• Ceremonial masks were worn in traditional dances, with each dance and mask holding certain meanings. The dances referring to the sea kingdom were especially important because the coastal people depended on the ocean for much of their food and livelihood. Fourteen different sea kingdom masks were used, including those of killer whales, salmon, seals, sea lions and herring.
  
  
• Powwow dances: Powwows are gatherings of First Nations people, which today occur regularly across North America. The name is derived from the Narragansett word powwow, meaning shaman. An example of a powwow dance is the women's jingle dress dance, which originated with the Anishnabe people of Ontario and is known as a medicine dance. Hundreds of jingles, once shells, now cones made from the lids of metal cans, are sewn to the dress and make a characteristic jingling sound as the dancer moves. The dance consists of low steps and half turns. Other women's dances are the fancy shawl dance, the hoop dance and the traditional dance.
  
  
• Another powwow dance is the men's grass dance, which is known in some regions as a healing dance, intended, for example, to doctor a sick child. The grass dancer's skill and strong belief in his dance enable him to render such a healing. Another version of the origin of the grass dance is that when the grass dancers were called out to the place where feasts and special events were to take place, the dancers blessed the ground while dancing in time to the beat of the drum. In this way, they flattened the grass with their feet in preparation for the ceremonies. The costume features long strands of yarn, ribbon or fabric designed to enhance the dancer's motions, which resemble the gentle swaying of grass on a windy day. Other men's dances include the ribbon dance, the traditional dance and the fancy dress dance.