Why We Dance

Overview

On land marked by erasure, a 1923 federal “No Dancing Letter” ordered hundreds of Tribal Nations to stop ceremonies. The Meskwaki answered with a powwow that became resistance and continues to this day. Filmed across the Rosebud Reservation, the Meskwaki Settlement, the Twin Cities, Oʻahu, Hawaii and Mataxhi, Mexico, Why We Dance traces the enduring journey of Indigenous dance from attempted silencing to Land Back, revealing how movement carries culture, memory, and belonging across generations