City: Rapid City, SD

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Telephone: (605) 343-5718

Address: 444 Mount Rushmore Rd.

Description: Powwows are spectacular events and a rich opportunity to learn about Native American culture and tradition. To participants, powwows are a spiritual experience, a celebration of culture, a chance to dance together and to renew old friendships and make new ones. The steady drumbeats accompanying the dancers represent the heartbeat of the people, a powerful emotional experience. The Black Hills Pow Wow and Art Expo take place in mid-Oct and last for three days. Call for exact dates. Traditional and contemporary art is on display and for sale, and in past years there have been storytellers, flute players, dance and drumming performances, educational activities for children, and a Native American fashion show. Pre-powwow programs are held at the Journey Museum (see the Attractions chapter) several days prior to the event. There is a charge for daily sessions and three-day passes.Be sure to watch the Grand Entry, an event that is repeated on all three days of the powwow. Observers, who are expected to respectfully stand during the entry, are treated to a stunning visual and auditory display of finery, drums, dancing, and passionate musical voices. The participants enter the arena in a line, singing and dancing as they go, accompanied by drumbeats and preceded by the sacred eagle staff and tribal and US flags. Hundreds of dancers fill the arena in a sacred circle, winding round and round, until the floor is a whirl of movement, color, and sound. It’s a spectacular sight, especially from the civic center’s seats high above the arena.