We went to our first pow wow a few years ago. We were at one of our favorite free camping sites , an Indian casino , and they just happened to be having a pow wow so we stayed to see what is was all about. We enjoyed it so much that now we check to see if there are any where we happen to be. Lucky for us – there was one close to Tacoma!
The main things are the dancing and the outfits. Everything has a meaning and most of it goes back for generations. Dances may have originated from season rituals ,religious ceremonies or social gatherings. The dances are opened to the general public although the audiences at the ones that we’ve attended have been predominately Native American.
More pictures here - http://cid-4ce32117b0082fb8.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Pow%20Wow