July-amsh in Post Falls, Idaho, billed as the "world's biggest outdoor Pow Wow" draws Native Americans from dozens of tribes throughout the west to meet old friends and to compete in the dancing and drumming contests.

The muscular arms of an intense ring of young men beat out a relentless rhythm on the massive drums, their high-pitched spine-tingling wailing reverberated across the dance ground. Festooned with elegant regalia of dizzying colors and intricate designs, the dancers respond to the beat, jumping, whirling, stomping, and spinning, overwhelming the senses. Young women, in the age ten-to-twenty-traditional category, draped with ornate shawls and wearing vivid purple, red, pink, and green dresses, covered with intricate beadwork and fringe, sway hypnotically to the music. The women’s bell skirts, each sewn with dozens of conical silver bells, play a tinkling symphony.

The tiny tots, a crowd favorite, some with traditional full regalia, others with only parts, emulate the dancers. One tiny guy, just learning to walk, shook his little head and waved his arms in his own interpretation of the dancers. Another, with white-feathered leggings and a red headdress, already had the heel-toe foot pattern as he danced with compressed lips and a very serious expression.

Inventive and stylistic, the fancy dances originated in the 1960's with a resurgence of Indian pride among the young people. Swirling in a blur of color-- fluorescent orange, lime green, and red-- the dancers perform a freestyle combination of disco, gymnastics, and traditional steps. True to the spirit of creativity, with the last drumbeat the two most vigorous dancers leapt to the air and fell to the ground in full splits. The audience shouted and cheered.