“Standards need to be of the highest caliber to legitimize the title of ‘World Championship’ … ALL FOR SHOW!”
Excerpt from a public comment about Powwow Dance Championships
A public comment recently questioned whether the Powwow Dance Championships can legitimately award world championship titles. The comment raised questions about invitations, judges, scores and how dancers are selected.
Those questions deserve an answer. But to understand what we are building, people also need to see the bigger picture.
The Powwow Dance Championships is not only about one night, one battle or one title. We are working to introduce powwow dancing to markets that do not know our dancers yet. We want to build an audience that can one day watch powwow championships on television, major streaming platforms and screens around the world.
We want our dancers to become internationally recognized stars. We want children to know their names. We want fans to follow their careers, watch their title defences and understand the years of work behind every performance.
Powwow is already competitive
Competition is not something Powwow Dance Championships invented. Competition powwows, dance contests, specials, tie-breakers and championship categories have existed for generations.
At a large contest powwow, many excellent dancers do not place. The dancers who consistently rise to the top do place. Results are never a perfect measurement of a human performance, but repeated success tells us something about skill, preparation, consistency and the ability to perform under pressure.
Judged dance competition also exists around the world. Breaking is built around head-to-head battles and reached the Olympic stage, supported by expert judging and rankings. Ballroom, country dance and many other dance forms hold national and world championships. Those dance forms have their own cultures and rules; the point is that artistry and athletic competition can exist together.
Powwow has always carried its own histories, teachings, community relationships and responsibilities. Our championship format does not replace any of that. It creates another stage for the competitive side of powwow dancing.
Why is “putting on a show” treated as something negative?
People sometimes say an event is “all for show” as though showing excellence is something shameful.
When dancers enter the arena, they are displaying extraordinary work. Some of the beadwork and regalia they carry took months or years to complete, with thousands of details stitched by hand. They are showing movements, footwork and transitions they have drilled repeatedly. They are carrying pride in their families, Nations and communities.
A championship production lets an audience slow down and see that work. It introduces the dancer, shares where they come from and gives viewers the opportunity to follow an entire performance instead of losing one person among hundreds of competitors.
A show can still be real. Production, lights, introductions and cameras do not remove the dancer’s skill. They help more people see it.
Many powwow dancers already live like professional athletes
Some dancers invest tens of thousands of dollars into their regalia and travel. They train throughout the year. They focus on nutrition, conditioning and mindset. They study video, examine their movement, practise transitions and keep finding ways to improve.
They make sacrifices to travel across Canada and the United States, compete weekend after weekend and represent their families and Nations at a high level.
That is professionalism. The larger public may not recognize it yet, but the work is already happening. Our job is to build a platform large enough for the world to recognize it too.
Who decides which dancers are invited?
Powwow Dance Championships is currently an invitation-based series. Red Deer was not an open qualifier, and we should be clear about that.
We keep our ear to the ground across the powwow trail. Selection is about more than popularity. We watch who is winning major contests and specials, who performs consistently and which matchups would put outstanding dancers against each other.
Winning matters because it puts a dancer on our radar. Like any competitive industry, people work their way up. The UFC does not discover most prospects before those fighters begin winning in regional and independent circuits. Powwow Dance Championships is similar: success at other competitions helps demonstrate that a dancer is ready for this stage.
That does not mean only famous dancers will receive opportunities. We’re a young championship series, building this professional platform and its pathways as we go. Emerging dancers can make themselves known through their work: compete, develop their style, build a record and share their highlights.
How can emerging dancers get noticed?
Think about other competitive fields. Basketball prospects play, travel and send highlight reels to scouts. Sprinters enter meets and establish their results. Competitive breakers build reputations by battling and winning in different places. Powwow dancers can also build a wider reputation by consistently showing up and competing.
Travel matters. A dancer winning in Oklahoma might take their talent to Alberta, Ontario, Michigan or California and test themselves against new competitors. People begin talking about dancers whose style, skill and consistency stand out. When that praise is backed by competitive results across different circuits, we pay attention.
Don’t wait for us to discover you. Reach out to Powwow Times. Share your dancing highlights, competition record, championships, and what makes your style special. Be proud of your accomplishments and show us why you deserve consideration. You don’t have to be famous, and no single win guarantees an invitation. Selection also considers competitive record, consistency, category and the matchups we’re building.
We’re still learning and growing. As our own championship records and future rankings develop, challengers will have another way to move toward a title opportunity. Train, show up, travel when you can, compete and make your work visible. The next championship star might be an emerging dancer we haven’t met yet.
This is still a young series. As more events take place, a top-15 ranking system will emerge from each dancer’s record within Powwow Dance Championships. Wins and losses in our battles will matter, and defeating a higher-ranked opponent will help a dancer move up. The rankings will show who is rising, who is in contention and who may earn the next championship opportunity.
Our championship does not reset every year
This is one of the biggest differences between our model and many annual dance contests.
The Ponca Fancy Dance World Championships and the Heard Museum World Championship Hoop Dance Contest are respected annual competitions. Dancers enter the contest and that year’s winners are crowned.
Powwow Dance Championships is building a continuing title system. When a dancer wins a featured Powwow Times World Championship title, that dancer remains champion until someone defeats them in a title battle. Champions return to defend. Challengers rise through future matchups and rankings. The story continues from one event to the next.
That continuity gives audiences something to follow: a champion’s reign, emerging challengers, rematches and the question of who can take the title away.
What does “Powwow Times World Champion” mean?
Powwow Dance Championships is an independent championship series created and produced by Powwow Times. It is not a governing body for every powwow, Nation, committee or dance contest across Turtle Island.
The title is a Powwow Times World Championship title, awarded within our own continuing series. We are not declaring someone the undisputed best dancer in Canada, the United States, North America or the world. There are extraordinary champions across powwow country, many deserving of recognition. Our title does not diminish theirs.
We created another platform to celebrate our heroes. Our community may know these dancers, but millions around the world have never seen powwow. A newcomer to a powwow livestream might love the music and dancing without knowing the categories, competitors or what makes a performance exceptional. Our head-to-head format introduces the dancers, their Nations, accomplishments, music and scores so a first-time viewer can understand and follow the competition.
The UFC is an example of how champion-versus-challenger stories, records, rankings and title defences help audiences follow a sport. We borrow that clarity of presentation, not the culture of fighting. We hope a viewer in Japan, Germany or Brazil can discover a dancer, become a fan and then learn more about powwow and the Nations represented.
Different organizations can operate respected championship systems. Our responsibility is to state clearly which title is being awarded and uphold the standards attached to it.
How are the battles judged?
The Red Deer battles used a published head-to-head system:
- Three judges scored each battle independently.
- Each song used a 10-point must system: a judge awarded 10 points to the dancer they believed won the song and 9 points to the other dancer.
- There were no tied song scores on an individual judge’s card.
- Regular battles used three songs and featured title battles used five.
- Each judge totalled their own scorecard, and the dancer who won a majority of the three final scorecards won the battle.
- A head judge oversaw the process, and judges rotated during the event.
How do we handle judging conflicts?
Judges are instructed to score every battle fairly and independently. A judge must not judge a relative. Judges are also expected to excuse themselves if they have another personal conflict involving a dancer, including a personal dispute or bias that could affect—or reasonably appear to affect—their decision.
When the winner was announced, we also announced how the judges scored the dancers. The decision was not simply handed to the audience with no explanation.
As our production team grows, we will also publish the judging cards after future events so online viewers can review the recorded decisions more easily.
Close battles will still create disagreement. Powwow dancing includes timing, technical skill, interpretation, style, consistency and connection to the drum. Two knowledgeable people can watch an excellent battle and favour different dancers. That is why we use three independent judges and a majority decision.
Read the complete Powwow Dance Championships judging and scoring guide.
Watch the full event and judge the production for yourself
The complete Red Deer replay is available below. Viewers can watch all eight battles, hear the score announcements and see the calibre of dancing and singing for themselves. The verified winners and results page lists every battle winner.
The bigger picture: taking powwow to new audiences
Most people outside the powwow world do not know the names of our champions. They do not know how much dancers invest, how hard they train or how much artistry is carried in their regalia and movement.
We want to change that.
We want a person who has never attended a powwow to discover a dancer, become a fan and follow that dancer’s career. We want young Indigenous people to see heroes who look like them. We want dancers to gain broader recognition, sponsorships, endorsements and opportunities that reflect the value of their work.
One day, we want these championship battles on television and major streaming platforms. We want a much broader audience for powwow, built around the people who have already dedicated their lives to it.
We are not trying to replace powwows. We are building something alongside them: a continuing championship series that can introduce our dancers, songs, artistry and competitive excellence to the world.
The deeper reason: our children need heroes
Beyond the championship belts and the cameras, this is the future I imagine: Indigenous children turning on a major sports network or streaming platform and seeing heroes from their own cultures celebrated before millions of viewers.
Children around the world grow up watching athletes like LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Stephen Curry. They study their moves, admire their discipline and dream of following in their footsteps. Why shouldn’t our children also see powwow dancers as heroes they can aspire to become?
Imagine a child watching one of our battles and saying, “One day, I want to be a Powwow Times World Champion.” Maybe that dream leads them to practise dancing, take care of their body, eat well, build confidence, learn from Elders, understand the songs and regalia, and feel pride in their Nation. Maybe they find mentors and a supportive community when they need one most.
Our young people face real challenges, including the effects of intergenerational trauma and limited opportunities. One championship cannot solve those problems. But a meaningful goal, cultural connection and positive role models can offer another path. If even one child discovers that path through our videos, that matters.
Yes, we want sold-out arenas, international fans, television coverage, major streaming platforms and sponsors. Those are ways to expand the opportunity, not the ultimate purpose. We want our dancers recognized and our children to see that their culture can be a source of pride, discipline, belonging and possibility.
One day, I hope a challenger walks into our arena and says, “I started dancing because I watched Powwow Dance Championships.” And somewhere, another child watching that battle begins the same journey.
That’s the legacy we’re trying to build: not just champions, but a generation that sees heroes in its own culture.
We are building this in public
This series is young, and it will keep evolving. We can explain invitations more clearly, make rankings easier to follow and continue improving how judging information reaches both the live audience and online viewers.
People are free to question the format or disagree with a decision. Questions about fairness deserve clear facts. We will explain the process, and serious allegations should be supported by evidence.
We believe in the dancers. We believe powwow deserves a bigger worldwide audience. And we are willing to do the work required to build it.
Patrick Mitsuing is the founder of Powwow Times, creator of Powwow Dance Championships and a World Champion Men’s Fancy Dancer.
