Something Magical About Country Western Dances on the Rez

So, in the last post I mentioned that I fell off the wagon with my studying and one partial reason was because I had to help out at a country western dance fundraiser. Contrary to the stereotypical image of an Native person wearing traditional clothes etc, one cultural aspect that a lot of Native communities have adopted has definitely been western aesthetic clothing and music. In this context country western dances are not unusual on the reservation, several Native members have even created their own bands. For example, at this particular dance I was helping out at the band was from the Laguna Pueblo. They are also, as I'm told, one of the best bands in the region. Anyway, working at these events is a all night affair: you have to set up, do whatever job you have (mine was working in concession), then help clean up after the dance. And dances usually end by 12 am, so sometimes helpers could be at the dance hall until 3 am! This time though I lucked out and was able to leave shortly after the dance ended. 


Anyway, while watching the dance I was really impressed by the different styles and magical aspect that these dances have for attendees. I mean it's cool to see so many NAVAJO people dancing and generally having a good time*.  I don't know, I was in awe during the dance lol I thought it was cool. Sure there's a lot of seedy stuff that goes around dances like drinking, drugs, etc but the event itself is interesting to watch, at least from my perspective. 


I wanted to try and record people but it was too dark to get anything on my camera, so I found this video that happens to feature the same band that played at the dance I worked at. The video is unusual in that it's a dance contest and I have never heard of dance contests, also the lights are on (but that's for the contest, so that's understandable). But I'm posting it because it shows a good example of different styles that people use during these dances, I think it's cool. 

*This is a cultural thing but generally Navajos, at least from my perspective, tend to be "shy" about doing things in front of others i.e. clown around, dance. So to see so many Navajo people willing to look beyond that "self-conscious" aspect of dancing it's interesting to see...to me. lol