行脚美国，行脚那片天

　　Most Indian families enjoy their privacy as much as you do in your own home. They may not appreciate bunches of tourists coming to their homes on the reservation to stare at them and to photograph them. On some reservations, there are signs stating that all outside visitors must register at the tribal office or that no photography is permitted on the reservation. Some tribes have built special visitor centers, museums, stores or casinos on their reservations, and they invite tourists to come to visit these places.
　　
　　Experiencing Native American culture 体验美洲本土文化
　　One way of experiencing authentic Native American culture is by visiting one of the Indian cultural centers or Indian museums. The pueblo cultural center in Albuquerque New Mexico is an excellent example. It offers an Indian museum, a crafts market, food stalls, a book shop and interpretive programs that include Native American dances, musical performances and story telling.
　　Another way of intimately experiencing native culture is by visiting an Indian village on one of their special feast days. I had the good fortune of visiting the San Felipe Pueblo north of Albuquerque on the feast day of San Felipe. At least two to three hundred natives including men, women and children all dressed in traditional dance attire wove their way around the central plaza slowly stomping to the sonorous beat of the drummers and the exotic melody of the choir. They continued for an hour; and after a brief interval, were replaced with another large group of dancers. This was not a performance for the benefit of the tourists. It was a strange mixture of Catholic Christianity mixed with an ancient native ceremony venerating the corn plant. The dance continued from sunrise to sunset while thousands of visitors mingled with costumed dancers to sample foods from the vendors or to purchase crafts and jewelry.
　　
　　Entry of the Eagle Standard 印第安传统仪式
　　A powwow always begins with the grand entry of the eagle feather standard. All spectators remove their hats and stand as a sign of respect. The standard is followed first by the tribal chiefs and the esteemed village elders, then by a procession of all of the dancers. At the Gathering of Nations, this entry procession lasted over thirty minutes until the entire arena was filled with over a thousand Indian dancers all adorned in their colorful and elaborate dance attire.
　　
　　Drums were spaced around the arena floor with eight or ten musicians seated around each. Throughout the powwow, these drummer groups took turns performing for the various dances. Each group vied for recognition as the best.
　　
　　There are many types of Indian dances with numerous tribe-specific variations of each. At the Gathering of Nations and at most other large powwows the contests feature only the most popular pan-tribal dances familiar to all participants. Men’s dances, women’s dances and children’s dances are divided into age categories with prizes awarded in each classification.
　　
　　Types of Indian dances 印第安舞蹈的种类