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This essay addresses the complex processes of reinventing Native American traditions in the urban context. The focus is on the way ethnic borders are negotiated during the performance of intertribal powwows celebrated annually in New York City's YMCA. There, Native Americans open the doors to non-Native peoples in order to allow them to partake of traditional dances, songs and meals. The non-Natives engage in different levels of involvement according to their identification with native Americans, which may lead to crossover as in the case of the Puerto Rican Tainos. The essay explores how issues of ethnicity and nationality are debated in a continuing process of negotiation toward the emergence of intercultural identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]