Students from First Nations Student Association are holding a “Pow Wow Etiquette” session 7:30 tonight at the Multicultural Resource Center.

They want to have this informative session before next Saturday’s Pow Wow that will be kicked off by a traditional gourd dance at 2 p.m.

The group welcomes anyone to come to tonight’s session, learn about the dances and ask any questions.

Mekko Tyner, Tulsa, Okla. third-year law student, said he wanted people to find out what takes place and what they can expect.

“We tried to act like this was going to be our first time at a pow wow,” he said.

Tyner also added that a gourd dance is a dance to honor veterans of the Kiowa tribe in Oklahoma.

This is the second time that the group has held an etiquette session.

Olivia Standingbear, Oklahoma senior, said they started the etiquette sessions to get more people to attend.

“People think they can’t go because they’re not Native American,” she said.

Only 12 people attended last years etiquette session. This year both Tyner and StandingBear hope that better planning and experience with non-members will bring out a bigger crowd.

“We just kind of got the idea,” Tyner said. “We didn’t know where to start, and we didn’t know what people knew and what people didn’t know.”

The extra planning also is a result of the group holding its Big 12 Leadership Conference at the University during the week of the pow wow.

The First Nations Student Association will also use the etiquette class as a training session for its Big 12 volunteers. Volunteers are still needed.