Honor the Sacred,
Honor the Earth, our Mother,
Honor the Elders,
Honor all with whom we share the Earth:
Four-leggeds, Two-leggeds, Winged Ones,
Swimmers, Crawlers, Plant and Rock People.
Walk in balance and beauty
Native American Elder

I have attended many pow wow’s in the past, and the overwhelming emotion that I feel is one of honor. To be sure, there is excitement and happiness at dancing and seeing old friends again, but honor remains at the heart of it all. This honor extends to many areas; to family; to ancestors; to traditions and customs; to veterans; if a member of the community is ill, or a new baby has been born, they will often honor them with a dance. Even the drum, which is central to any pow wow, will from time to time shift to a more solemn, stacato, beat know as “honor beats”, a signal to the dancers to directly show honor in their dancing. I hope that I have been able to not only honor the dancers with these images, but also to communicate that feeling to anyone vewing them.