Print edition: 
Had it been another pow-wow, Jillian Conine probably wouldn't have bothered to stop by at Wichita's Mid-America All Indian Center on Saturday.
But because it was a Stomp Dance , she wasn't going to miss it.
"I'm not a pow-wow person," she said. "I don't like pow-wows, really. I like the smaller and more personal kind of dancing. This is basically smaller and more personal."
Conine was one of about 100 people who spent Saturday afternoon celebrating their Native American culture at a Stomp Dance on the back lawn of the Indian Center. Organizers described the event as a gentler version of a pow-wow.
It's been years since a Stomp Dance has been held in Wichita, organizers said. But they said they decided to hold one in conjunction with Saturday's ninth annual Trail of Tears Memorial Walk.
The walk honors American Indians who suffered and died in 1831 during their forced relocation by the U.S. government to Indian Territory.
After the walk, Indian tacos were served at the Indian Center, and then everyone's attention shifted to the back lawn, where the Stomp Dance was held with the help of a dance troupe from Sapulpa, Okla.
During each round, a group of dancers circled a fire counterclockwise with slow, stomping steps. The rhythm was set by woman dancers wearing "shell shakers" strapped to their legs.
Jeff Watkins, director of the Wichita school district's Native American program, said people who find pow-wows intimidating may feel more comfortable at a Stomp Dance.
"A Stomp Dance is a little more laid back, a little simpler," he said. "You don't have to be dressed in a certain way to be in a Stomp Dance."
Watkins organized the dance with the help of Ray Rodgers, who heads the Native American education program in the Sapulpa public schools.
Rodgers said the shell shakers worn on the women's legs serve the same function as the drums at a traditional pow-wow.
"It's the heartbeat, the rhythm," he said. "The fire represents smoke going up to the creator, taking our songs and our prayers up to the creator."
Conine, a 2008 North High graduate, said she made her shell shakers as her senior project after learning about Stomp Dances.
"It's something that my ancestors did, and something I always wanted to do," she said.
Conine said she made her shakers with evaporated milk cans. After poking holes in the sides, she filled them with aquarium rocks. She wore 20 on each leg as she danced.
"I like the sound and the beat," she said of the dance. "Mostly I like the beat."
