Red Earth Parade 2009

[Spookonthe8ball]

Red Earth is a annual indian dance competition in Oklahoma City, OK. Indian Nations all across the U.S. come here to compete for the "Best of Dance" in many catagories. I thought I'd post some pics from the parade today.
I haven't had this much fun shooting in a while. The late morning full sun was tough. I wish some of you guys could have been there to help me :D
Spook

[Beowulff]

Absolutely stunning colours! All great pics — do you have any more for us?

And is the dress they're wearing a special "ceremonial" display, or would they wear this in an "everyday" situation? It all looks so elaborate I can't imagine getting into that gear every morning!

(And I apologise for my apparent ignorance, but in Australia we're taught very little about 'foreign' cultures.) Sadly.


Cheers :)

[Spookonthe8ball]

Thanks Beowulf for your comments.
I have a lot more pics from that day. I took over 300 pictures in 1 hour while the parade was going by. I don't think they wear their Dance dress anywhere except practice or a competition like this. Most of these people have regular jobs and you would never know that they do this for recreation and to carry on their tribal customs. I spoke to 1 Fancy dance competitor and he said it took 2 to 3 years to make their attire. A lot of delicate bead work, feather selection and stitching. He had help from his mother and grandmother ect., so it was like a family project to carry on a tradition.
Here are more from that day.
Spook

[faisal]

Lovely colours Spook. Nice pictures....

The shoes they're wearing. Are they normal sneakers or specially made of something else???

Btw link to video please!!! :)

[Spookonthe8ball]

The shoes they wear are "moccasins" made out of mostly cattle leather. Beads are modern plastics woven into the leather, but I found many natural materials used as rattles such as dried bean pods. Most modern dancers use metal & plastic for the louder sounds. There is a cultural revolution going on in the background in the way dances are presented. There is the 500 year old way, and there is the group that wants to much fancy dance. In the powwow I went to, the old ways won out. In competition they add many jingles and regalia ribbon colors that were not available in 1960 for instance.
Gosh, the American Indians I have met doing this are computer program and data systems analyst, sound engineers all the way down to sacking groceries at a local store.
Bottom line is they still believe in America and adhere to the old ways of dancing and go for it big time on a Saturday night. They invite (white) folks like me that are war veterans into certain dance. The warrior was always a tribal leader in their culture and among the only ones allowed to wear a eagle feather.
Spook


Here is the utube link of a local competition video I posted a couple of weeks ago. There is another one "Ladies Cloth", but the lighting was really bad on that one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0VpChWBzm8

[faisal]

Thanks for the information.... :)

[Spinning]

Very nice! The colors are amazing. The first one is my favorite.

[Spookonthe8ball]

Thanks Faisal & Spinning for the comments.
Spook