The Town of Okotoks got a little taste of the Calgary Stampede Monday morning, as native dancers from Treaty 7 First Nations put on a pow-wow in front of the Boothill Gallery.

Boothill Gallery Owner, Carol Bishop, says she's seen the dances many times before, and through a contact was able to bring it to Okotoks.

"Shirley (one the dancers) actually was a friend of mine, and she did some dancing at one of the senior's lodges," she says. "Just the tradition, and the work they put in, I wanted to share that with the people of Okotoks. So I called her, and she said she'd be happy to do it. When she told me she could bring eight other dancers, I was thrilled, because I just think it's such an amazing thing for them to do."

Executive Director of Thundering Nations International,which teaches First Nations dancing, Jacquelynn Soppit, says the pow-wow dances are a more modern style.

Executive Director of Thundering Nations International, Jacquelynn Soppit.

"We have various different styles that are still underground, and still considered more secret-society, more ceremonial dances," she says. "These ones are a part of what we can share with the people, and it's a social dance but still has a very spiritual meaning."

Soppit says First Nations dancing styles go back for generations.

"It's hundreds and hundreds of years old," she says. "I mean, it has changed and adapted, before there were more simple dances, and now they've become very modern, with bright and fluorescent colours. But, we still carry the same meanings and spiritual connection."