Acosia Red Elk (Pendleton) is a jingle dancer of Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla, Nez Perce and Colville heritage on her father’s side. Red Elk has been the World’s jingle dance champion seven times.
Bio
Acosia Red Elk is a jingle dancer and regalia maker of Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla, Nez Perce and Colville heritage on her father’s side. Red Elk has been the jingle dance World Champion seven times.
Red Elk begin dancing seriously in 1997 when she was 18. She practiced for a year and then competed in her first powwow. She ended up winning in a field that included many accomplished dancers. She is married to Paris Leighton, another powwow dance champion, with whom she has two children.
The jingle dance is a healing powwow dance that is performed at powwows across the US. The Ojibwe introduced the dance to the powwow circuit, and it has become renowned for its distinctive dresses adorned with “jingles.” Originally made of rolled snuff can lids, the multiple rows of metal cones create a jingling sound as the dancer moves.
Red Elk dances both traditional and contemporary jingle styles. Contemporary jingle dancing includes eagle tail fans as part of the regalia; the dancer lifts her feet so that both are off the ground at the same time. Old-style regalia has no eagle feathers or flashy colors. The dancer raises her hand on the honor beat to help the prayers go up; one foot stays in contact with the ground all the time, to show the dancer’s connection to the earth.
For the jingle dance, Acosia explains, “You have to carry yourself well. You have to be strong for the people.”
