Today is my birthday. Like most folks I tend to look back at my life as my birthday approaches. What have I done? What have I not done? We all have our bucket list (in my case – wanderlust list). I decided that I was way overdue for one of the many cultural experiences on my wanderlust list – to experience Native American culture.

Would you believe I’ve lived in the U.S. for almost two decades and never did this before? It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but never had the opportunity. I almost forgot about it! This was also something I wanted to experience on my own. What better time than during my birthday weekend.

I looked into where I could experience Native American culture in Georgia. Luckily, the Native American Festival and Pow Wow was being held at Stone Mountain during the first weekend in November. The Native American Festival is an inter-tribal festival for tribes within North America and Central America.

I arrived at Stone Mountain around 1:00 p.m. As I walked towards the festival, I could hear the beating of the drums and the melodic singing. I arrived just in time for the dance competition.

Native American Dance and Music

Men’s Traditional Dance

The Men’s Traditional dance symbolizes warriors and hunters. These dancers wear feathers, head dresses, and regalia. Some also wear shields.

Men’s Fancy Dance

There is also the Men’s Fancy Dance, where the dancers wear colorful regalia with fringes, as well as bells attached to their knees. This dance is fast-paced and energetic. It is said to be based on a war dance. Here is a sample of the Male Fancy Dance.

Women’s Fancy Dance

This is the female version of the Fancy Dance , where the women wear shawls over their shoulders (or draped over their arms) and dance to the music with movements that include spinning and jumping.

Circle Dance

There’s also the interactive circle dance, where members of the audience are encouraged to join in. As the name implies, this dance involves going around in a circle with a side-step movement.

There was dancing and drumming throughout the day, so I decided to walk around and look at the different vendors.

Art and Craft

There were lots of handmade art and crafts at most stalls, including handmade jewelry, baskets, and shawls.

Traditional Weapons and Gear

There were also traditional weapons on display at other stalls, as well as other traditional items ranging from arrow heads, to essential oils.

There were many traditional items for sale. I bought my son a kid-friendly bow and arrow (with a soft leather tip) and a flute (he can’t use them until he’s older though).

Native American History and Lifestyle

There was a whole other section of the festival that delved into the history and lifestyle of Native Americans and I couldn’t leave without experiencing this!

The narrator talked about the history of Native Americans before and after the invasion of Europeans (shown below). Georgia was inhabited by a number of different tribes, including the Apalachee, Cherokee, and the Creeks prior to this invasion.

I also got to experience a traditional story-teller, who told us the story about how snakes got their venom.

I was able to go inside a real tipi/tepee. This area allowed attendees to go inside each tipi and learn more about Native American lifestyle from the owners. You could also learn how to build a tipi/tepee, make a bow, start a fire, and cook on an open fire.

I ended my evening with one more viewing of Native American traditional dance and drumming, then headed home. While I’d say this was quite an experience, there are aspects of this culture that I’d like to learn more about. I think I will go again next year.

Do you have any recommendations for other ways or places to experience Native American culture? I’d love to hear them.