Dance is the fastest, most direct route to the truth. This can be purely on an individual level, within a group, or an entire country and culture. Cultural dances are so precious to many civilizations, as they often contain pieces of their history and livelihood that would otherwise be lost. The American Indians are an example of this, as many tribes have looked to dance in the past as a way to convey joy, mourning, and even times of battle and war. The same is true at the roots of many people groups, as dance is a common language that unites us all on some level. The fact so much of the culture of the numerous tribes that once dominated this continent has been lost to history, makes the dances that still survive today so important, not only to continue the traditions of their ancestors, but to show the rest of the world what it means to be Native American.
Like other cultural groups around the globe, Indians have their own unique style of dance that accompanies a range of rituals. Dance is the chosen mechanism of religious expression because of its potent expressive capabilities. Native American dance is a valued tradition among the first nation of North America. Because there are several different tribal groups living within the United States and Canada, each group has their own distinct Native American dance which sets them apart. To truly appreciate the amount of different tribes, someone would just have to look at the map shown below, which of course only shows major tribes, with countless minor ones each having their own distinct culture and traditional dance as well.
Not only are there differences of dance between each tribe, but the actual geographic location, whether that be the deserts of the southwest, the woodlands of the east, the great plains of the interior, or the icey confines of the north, equally affects the culture, and in turn the style