Calcedeaver Elementary

CALCEDEAVER ELEMENTARY

20185 Richard Weaver Rd.

Mt. Vernon, AL36560

Phone: 221-1092 Fax: 221-1094

Paige Mixon, Principal

September 8, 2014

Dear Parents:

The 12thannual Miss Indian Education and Little Miss Indian Education Princess Pageants will be held on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. in the MediaCenter.Eligible contestants for Miss Indian Education are girls in grades 4,5, and 6 who currently have or will have dance regalia and who maintain a grade point average of 3.0 (B) or higher. The Little Miss Indian Education title is open to Pre-Kindergarten,Kindergarten, First, Second, and Third grade girls with the same guidelines as listed above. Study questions are attached to this application and it is in the best interest of the contestant to study these each night. The interview questions will be taken directly from the study material.

The contestants will be competing for the title of Calcedeaver Elementary’s Princess and will represent Calcedeaver and the community in various capacities. Both Princesses will have a beaded crown and banner that they will wear during their reign. It is very important that the contestants and their parent(s) understand that this is a tremendous honor that carries many responsibilities. The student will be called on many times throughout the school year including weekends and even during the summer. During the school year, the student and parent must agree to keep up with homework and other school work that the student may have missed while out for appearances. If the grade point average falls below 3.0(B), then the crown and title will be given to the contestant who was named First Runner-Up. The crown, banner, trophy, and shawl will be presented to each winner during the crowning ceremony on Friday, November 21, 2014.

So that all of our contestants can be judged fairly, judging will be done by three individuals not associated with our school community. Parents are NOT allowed in the Media Center while the pageant is taking place; however, it is videoed in its entirety. The videotape will be available for viewing upon request. The criteria for each division will be as follows:

MISS INDIAN EDUCATION (grades 4-6)

PERFORM A NATIVE TALENT

Example: The Lord’s Prayer in Indian sign language, recite a native poem from memory, perform their dance style etc.

INTERVIEW

Each girl will be asked one question by each judge for a total of three questions. These questions will be things that the girls have been taught in Indian Education time during school. Sample questions will be sent home with the contestants after applications and money has been returned.

DANCE STYLE AND REGALIA DESCRIPTION

Each contestant will be asked to tell what dance style they perform and describe the regalia that they will be wearing.

LITTLE MISS INDIAN EDUCATION (Pre-k through 3)

THE CONTESTANTS WILL BE JUDGED ON THE SAME CRITERIA AS MISS INDIAN EDUCATION; HOWEVER, THESE CONTESTANTS WILL NOT BE REQUIRED TO PERFORM A TALENT.
THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS WILL BE ADAPTED FOR THE LOWER GRADES.

Contestants must return both pages of thisapplication along with a $25.00 entry fee no later than Tuesday, November 11, 2014. Please make checks payable to Calcedeaver Elementary with Indian Education on the bottom left of your check. If you have any questions, please feel to contact me at 221-1090. Thank you for your continued support of Calcedeaver’s Indian Education Department.

Sincerely,

Nicole Williams

Indian Education Coordinator

I,______, allow my child ______to participate in the 12thAnnual Princess Pageant. We have both read the enclosed letter and agree with its content. I am enclosing the $25.00 entry fee.

GIRLS DANCE STYLES

Jingle:This dance style is a medicine dance that originated in Canada. The legend or story behind the dance style is that there was a little girl who was born into a pow-wow family. This is a family that travels to pow-wows every weekend competing for prize money. This little girl was born with a disability something like Cerebral Palsy. This disability caused her to have pain when she walked. She also had a slight limp as she walked. She told to her dad that she really wanted to be able to dance and win money at pow-wows like the rest of her family. This hurt the dad’s heart so he went to the medicine men of the tribe and asked for help. They recommended a sweat lodge ceremony. A sweat lodge gets very hot and people have been known to have visions or hallucinations. While in the sweat lodge, the girl’s dad had a vision. In his vision, the Creator, who is God, told him to make the dress and teach the dance style and his daughter would be healed. After the vision, the dad made the dress which consists of a rolled metal lid (today we use the lids from Skoal cans). He taught his daughter the dance steps as required in his vision and after her first dance as a jingle dancer, the little girl was completely healed. Today, the girls hold their left hand on their hip and hold a fan in their right hand. During the honor beats of the song, the girls who dance this style raise their fan to thank God for giving the girl a miracle.

Fancy Shawl:This style of dance originated from an uprising of men fancy dancers who were upset that women were dressing up as men in fancy dance regalia and beating the men in dance competitions. The elders of the tribes came together and decided that they needed to create a new fast pace dance style for the girls. Northern Shawl was their creation. The dance style caught on fast throughout pow-wow country and is very popular today. Dancers who dance this style have been described as looking like eagles or butterflies in flight. This is a high energy dance style and takes extra stamina to compete at pow-wows. The shawl is wrapped around the shoulder and is controlled by the arm movement. High footwork and shawl movement is a mark of champion dancers. (This dance style is NOT called “the butterfly dance”. PLEASE do NOT say this at all, especially during your interview.)

Women’s Traditional (Southern Cloth):This dance is said to resemble a swan floating on water. This is a very gracious dance style and graciousness counts heavily during dance competition. There are different types and styles of dresses for this dance style. Most of the dresses are made from either cotton or satin material. Each tribe has a traditional tribal dress that is different from other tribes and is a distinct sign of which tribe the dancer belongs. In recent years, most dancers have moved away from traditional dresses and have moved toward a T-dress with designs that is more comfortable, cooler, and easier to have made than the traditional tribal dresses. T-dress accessories include: a breastplate, a conch belt, hair ties, a scarf with a silver slide, a shawl folded neatly across the left arm, and a fan in the right hand.

Choctaw dress:The Choctaw people greatly honored, NOT worshipped the diamond back rattlesnake. Before it strikes, the diamond back gives a warning by rattling its tail. Like the diamond back, the Choctaw people (who were very peaceful) would give their enemies a warning before they went into battle. On a traditional Choctaw dress, there are full or half diamonds that are hand cut and sewn onto the dress. There are also four ruffles one at the top, one on the apron, and two on the bottom. These ruffles represent the four directions- North, South, East, and West.
Buckskin:The dance steps are the same. The only difference is that the dress is made from the skin of deer, hence the name “buckskin”.