It just feels wrong not to dance.

Monica Noble of Provo was one of several hundred people who gathered at UVSC on Saturday for the Native Sun Club Contest Powwow.

Noble spent eight months and around $1,500 for her elaborate costume, much of which she constructed herself, though she paid $1,000 for beaded moccasins and other ceremonial objects. Her green velvet dress was decorated with hundreds of cowrie shells, each of which she drilled by hand, and each was beaded with Austrian crystals and mother of pearl beads. Lengths of buckskin fringe, brass bells and Spanish coins completed the decoration.

In her hair Noble wore three-foot lengths of otter fur with toothpick-like shells in a ladder pattern and green ribbon. The bells and shells jingled gently wherever she went.

"Sometimes I don't dance and I feel odd and out of place so I make a point to dance," she said of why she was competing on Saturday. "I like to get out and keep in touch with the Indian community."

Saturday's event began at noon and was scheduled to run until 11 p.m. Ceremonies were kicked off with the Grand Entry, in which all the dancers in full regalia accompanied the flag and flag bearers into the UVSC ballroom, dancing in a circle around the flag to beating drums.

A live eagle and handler followed the flag, and then a prayer was said in the Sioux language, followed by a Native American flag song, the U.S. National Anthem and a Native American victory song.

The competition then began with four little girls dancing in the tiny tots category. Categories included northern and southern traditional dances, grass dance, fancy dance, jingle dance and fancy shawl dance.

Angela and Jmichael Crank of Provo started the powwow 15 years ago. Their six children, ages 5-17, all dance. On Saturday, 50 tribes were represented, members of which traveled from as far as Idaho and Arizona, she said.

"We are trying to teach not only how to dance but how to interact with our own people," she said.

The competition raises money to help Native American UVSC students who may find themselves in a short-term financial emergency for whatever reason and need a little money to be able to stay in school, she said.

Last year's competition funded three $500 scholarships and this year the group hopes to raise enough to fund four scholarships, she said.

"There is a beauty in anything we do," she said of Native American culture. "Being Native American means having a rich heritage and a lot of people who are there for you and you should never be afraid to love them."

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page B1.