We had three contestants from our tribe last year that competed. Over the past 27 years, we have developed no traditions . Our pow wow had evolved into a big spectator event in which we watched other Indians win a lot of our money. The largest intertribal pow wow in the state is Red Earth, put on by a committee of the City of Oklahoma City. Indians come from everywhere to dance for money.
People pay to get in and sit and watch.
This is an intertribal pow wow, that is, it is not identified with any particular tribe. Ours was no different, except we did not charge admission. There are over 2000 Citizen Potawatomi within 30 miles of the tribal headquarters. Most of our people did not attend, felt excluded, self-conscious and left out. No one had ever showed them Potawatomi dances, much less these other kind, and even if they had, they were not about to get in the ring with the professional pow wowers.