The annual Powwow of Love is a highly anticipated event on Michigan State University’s campus and for community members across the Midwest. The powwow is hosted by the North American Indigenous Student Organization, or NAISO.
This year, the Powwow of Love is scheduled for Feb. 21 at IM East, with doors opening at 10 a.m. The theme is “Growing in Community: The Three Sisters Thrive Together.”
According to Powwow of Love co-chairs Carmen Cameron and Maggie Broderick, this year’s theme reflects the traditional way corn, beans and squash are grown together, with each plant supporting the growth of the others, emphasizing the importance of community.
Facing funding challenges, Cameron and Broderick connected with the Nokomis Cultural Heritage Center and worked with a local resource to support fundraising for this year’s powwow.
The Powwow of Love is the largest student-led event on MSU’s campus. In previous years, the Powwow of Love has welcomed over 1,000 attendees, and this year the planning board expects up to 2,000.
The Powwow of Love is a space to celebrate and display Native cultures. According to Cameron, a powwow is meant to feel like a “giant family reunion.” Both Cameron and Broderick hope that after attending the powwow, students will feel a connection to the community, begin interacting with NAISO on campus and attend events. Broderick emphasizes that she hopes students feel at home and find community while attending the powwow.
Whether it is an attendee’s first time at the Powwow of Love or a return visit, the hope is to “create a safe and welcoming environment at the university while also helping to educate peers and staff about Native culture,” says Cameron.
According to Broderick, the best way to practice proper etiquette at a powwow as a first-time attendee is to “respect others in action and language, with empathy and humility.”
At the powwow, a brochure will be available to help direct first-time attendees. Co-chairs Cameron and Broderick suggested that attendees listen to the emcees and the arena director to follow along with the event’s happenings.
The emcees and the arena director help guide participants and attendees on how to navigate a powwow. They will typically direct attendees on when to sit, stand or even participate in dances during the intertribal dance.
Powwows are a special time for attendees to see, visit, dance, eat and support local community vendors. While at a powwow, attendees should keep in mind that regions and nations have different dances, languages, regalia and adornments. Individuals take pride in their regalia because each piece is handmade by them or by family members.
In this context, attendees shouldn’t touch unfamiliar items or take photos without permission. It is also important to remember that regalia, or the traditional wear of Native communities, is not a costume and should not be treated as such. Overall, proper etiquette includes respect and consideration when interacting with others.
Below is a description of dance categories and adornments worn on regalia.
Dance categories:
Jingle Dress Dance: A traditional medicine dress with metal cones, or jingles, crafted from rolled tins. When dancing, the jingles produce rhythmic clinking sounds intended to be healing and seen as an act of care for others.
Fancy Shawl Dance: A dance intended to mimic the grace of butterflies. The dance is especially appealing because dancers are adorned in bright, vibrant colors. Shawl dancers remain light on their feet, keeping their movements so quick and graceful that their heels rarely touch the ground.
Women’s Traditional Dance: Women wear long dresses or ribbon skirts and dance holding a feather and sometimes wear a bandolier bag.
Men’s Traditional Dance: This dance is interpreted as a hunt and is showcased through movements that keep the dancers low to the ground.
Woodland Dance: This dance is a regional dance exclusive to areas in the Midwest, like Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and is even seen in areas in Canada.
Smoke Dance: A regional dance performed by men and women, typically practiced on the East Coast and most commonly associated with the seven Iroquois nations.
Grass Dance: Traditionally, the Grass dance was the first category to start a powwow because the dancer’s purpose was to stomp on the grass where a powwow was being held, flattening the field before other dancers went out.
Regalia, adornments and accessories:
Eagle feathers: Eagles are treated with the highest respect and are seen as beings that can come closest to the star world, also known as the afterlife. If a feather falls on the ground, a ceremony must be performed before retrieving the feather.
Bustle: A bustle is typically worn by men, and it is an adornment of feathers, usually eagle feathers, that are worn around the waist.
Women’s hair adornments: May include feather plumes.
Moccasins: Typical footwear that is usually made from leather from deer or elk hide, and are typically beaded for Fancy Bustle and Fancy Shawl dances.
Powwows represent a legacy of passing down and sharing traditions that Native communities hold dear. Come and experience the community and connection at the 2026 Powwow of Love.
