CHEYENNE, Wyo. — As Michael Engelbrecht of Cheyenne Wells, Colo., lifts the cumbersome lid from a cast iron pot, he is greeted with the lively crackle of hot cooking oil. He calls to his wife, Tammy, who brings over the breaded meat she has been tenderizing with an authoritative whack on the chuckwagon a few paces away from Michael’s campfire.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A giant round drum, surrounded by a group of singing drummers sitting at the center of a swirling Native American dance circle, was the beating heart of the Cheyenne Frontier Days (CFD) annual powwow Wednesday.