WHY WE DANCE

In 1923, the U.S. government ordered hundreds of Tribal Nations to stop dancing, targeting ceremonies that had sustained Indigenous communities for generations. The Meskwaki responded not with silence, but with celebration, organizing a massive four-day powwow. A century later, the Meskwaki Annual Powwow continues, its very existence an act of cultural resilience. WHY WE DANCE traces this enduring heartbeat across Indigenous communities, following dancers and culture-bearers from the Rosebud Reservation and Meskwaki Settlement to Minnesota, Oʻahu, and Mataxhi, Mexico. Through powwow footwork, hand-beaded regalia, family stories, and traditions passed between generations, the film explores dance as ceremony, resistance, memory, and renewal. Among those featured is Loa Simoes (Sac & Fox), Chairwoman of the Honolulu Intertribal Powwow, alongside Canku One Star, Pualeilani Paiea Kamahoahoa, and culture-keepers Mary Anne and Sergio Quiroz, celebrating movement as an enduring connection to land, ancestors, identity, and community.