It was a party atmosphere with a lot of song and dance, but not the kind of song and dance you’ll find at a night club or sock hop.

It was a pow wow, held Saturday and Sunday at Mauch Chunk Lake Park. featuring Native Americans who put on display their traditions, culture and attire.

Dozens of Native Americans attended the pow wow and entertained curious spectators with singing, chanting and original dancing. The spectators were encourage to participate in the dances, held inside a circular, roped area.

In addition, there were stands in which you could purchase Native American jewelry, artwork, dream catchers and other objects relevant to their heritage. Food and drinks also were sold.

Among those were Matthew “White Eagle” Clair and his wife, Chris “Mourning Dove” Clair of Weatherly. The two moved to Weatherly about six years ago. They initially met each other at a pow wow about 15 years ago.

Matthew, of the Mi’kmaq Tribe in Canada, was raised on the Elsipogtog Reservation in Canada. He said Elsipogtog means “sacred fire” in his native tongue.

Chris is a member of the Cherokee Tribe.

The two attend about 15 to 20 pow wows a year, Matthew said. He feels such pow wows are important.

“It’s important to educate nonnative people that native people are still here, but we live like everybody else,” he said. “We live in regular homes. We drive regular cars. We have regular home.”

He said, “We want to make people understand we don’t live in teepees, we don’t drive horses except for recreation.”

The only history native people have is what is passed down from generations, he said. Most history books are written one-sided and sometimes have false information.

One of the individuals who commanded a lot of attention for his attire was Ernie “Strong Bear” Beltz of Lancaster. He said the tribal elders invited him to participate in the pow wow. His message is more spiritual at the events. He handed out Christian fish trinkets.

Leading the singing were six men and one woman who called themselves the Gray Cloud Singers. Several controlled the tempo with animal skin drums. The songs primarily consisted of chanting and/or songs in native tongue.

Visitors filtered in and out of the pow wow throughout the two-day event, making it impossible to determine how many spectators attended.

Chris MacMillan of Stroudsburg said she enjoyed the event and learned a lot about Native Americans.

“Just seeing their dances and having them teach them to us was a fun experience,” she said. “Also, they were friendly and patient and it was fun talking with them. I would say I learned a lot.”