Wearing the Wolf

Masks are not the only way that people make faces. Some people put paint or ink on their faces to change the way they look.

The Northern Arapaho people in Wyoming do that. They wear paint and headgear to look like wolves.

The wolf is special to them because the Northern Arapaho see wolves as teachers. Watching wolves taught them to hunt and showed them how to share food.

Now the Arapaho honor wolves with dances they perform at gatherings called powwows. Face paint helps dancers look the part.

A Northern Arapaho man wears a wolf headdress and face paint. He is ready for a powwow, or gathering.