Native Pride Gathering

On our last day in Maine Jay and I were lucky enough to stumble on a Native American powwow hosted by Metis of Maine. Because it was what they termed an informal powwow rather than a formal religious ceremony the rules were a bit more relaxed than I gather they normally are. With the exception of the smudging ceremony and the first three dances they were allowing visitors to take photographs, but it was obvious that it was still quite a serious event with rules and expectations I couldn't know as an outsider. I asked one of the participants what was acceptable etiquette-wise and she explained that informal "scenes" were fine, but that full-on portraits of anyone should only be taken with their express permission (of course, and I was glad to hear that most of the participants would likely be proud to grant permission). It was over 90 degrees that day and the dancers in particular had to be sweltering in those long deerskin clothes but you would never have known it from the beauty and grace and strong show of reverence they brought to each of the steps and from the haunting notes of the singers' chanting.
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These photographs were taken under fairly challenging conditions with scorching mid-day sun, strong shadows, and the lack of a short lense, but most of all I tried to take them discretely, without overstepping my place as an observer or interfering with the powerful actions occuring in the circle in front of me. This meant placing myself further out of the action than I would normally be, far enough away that I was outside the main circle of spectators as well. It does mean the images have a more distant feel than I would have liked, but it was what the circumstances clearly dictated. I hope that those who saw me there agree, or better yet, that they never noticed me intruding on their moment at all.
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This guy has his eyes closed but he was so impressive looking that I included the photo anyway, I hope he won't mind.
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This is the lovely woman who with her companion took the time to answer my etiquette questions about who and what were acceptable to photograph and explained a bit to me about what I was seeing and what it meant. I'm so grateful, the added knowledge really enriched my experience. (And isn't her dress gorgeous? Look at all those delicate flowers.)
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Click to enlarge any of these images, and visit Work of the Poet for more photos with a little or a lot of red in them.

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