Dancer on stage in colorful dance regalia, with feathers on his arms

Native Culture: Resilient and Dancing with Pride

Join us on Sunday, April 15 to enjoy and learn about the importance of the Native Grass Dance, as well as the Grass Dance regalia on loan and on exhibit in the Spurlock Museum. Trickster Art Gallery, the only Native-owned and operated art institution in the state of Illinois, and World Champion Native Pride Dancers, founded by Larry Yazzie, will present a cultural education program on the University of Illinois campus, in partnership with Native American House and Spurlock Museum. “There will even be a time for everyone to join in and better understand the feeling of the heartbeat of our people— the power of the drum,” says Joe Polasek (LCO-Ojibwe/Polish), owner of Trickster Art Gallery.

Originating in Northern Plains tribes such as the Dakota-Sioux and Omaha-Ponca, the Grass Dance is a Native traditional art. Regalia and performance evoke swaying plants in the grasslands wind and honors the importance of this natural resource as fuel and insulation.

All images are courtesy of Joe Podlasek.

three dancers dressed in colorful clothes, one of them wearing a native traditional headgear
Add Event to CalendarAdd to Calendar

Contact

For further information on this event, contact Beth Watkins at or (217) 265-5485

All participants are welcome. To request disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact Brian Cudiamat at or (217) 244-5586.