Dwight White Buffalo has danced nearly all his life, carrying on the traditions of his Cheyenne ancestors.
The Oklahoma resident was among the more than 100 dancers registered for the New Year's Competition Pow-Wow Indian America at Rillito Park Saturday and Sunday.
The 42-year-old White Buffalo, dancing since age 9, is a seven-time world champion in the Men's Fancy Dance competition, he says, and he has appeared in documentary films on native dances. His regalia, which he makes himself, "takes days, weeks, months, years" to complete. "It depends on how you make it."
Organizer Fred Synder said he's "in charge of the grass and the Port-A-Johns. It's their (the Native participants') event."
The powwow, Synder said, "is a prayer made visible. The circle is our church, temple, synagogue, mosque. That is what it's all about."
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Contact photographer Jeffry Scott at jscott@azstarnet.com or 573-4155.
