Despite grade-school teachings, waving a hand over one’s mouth while donning feathered paper headbands does not constitute an “Indian” dance.

Perhaps it’s time to grow up a little.

Red Thunder: The Next Generation Native Dance Theatre performs at Hodgson Hall tonight. Unlike second grade antics, these dances are authentic to Native American culture.

“What they do on stage is what they would do for a powwow,” said Ata Papa, the dancers’ booking representative. “They use a lot of it to celebrate their culture.”

The dancers hail from the Plains Indians tribes of the Tsuu T’ina, Siksika and Lakota nations.

“They were the horse culture,” said Laura Weaver, instructor in the English department and the Institute for Native American Studies. “Buffalo was their economy and ceremony.”

Red Thunder Dance Theatre was formed in 1986 by Lee and Aroha Crowchild of the Tsuu T’ina nation. Its latest incarnation is led by their children. All the dancers are either siblings or cousins, Papa said.

Friday’s show features a number of traditional popular social and competitive dances such as the “Hoop Dance” and “Round Dance.”

“Powwows evolved as Native Americans moved away from their traditional lands to the reservations, it was a way to communicate with others,” Weaver said.

Other dances, such as “Tread Softly,” offer contemporary lessons.

“Native Americans lived by a philosophy for hundreds of years that if you take something from the earth you must always give back,” Papa said. “There is a commentary: We take and we take and we give nothing back.”

Weaver expressed similar sentiments about this philosophy.

“It’s their respect for everything, for people, the earth and others that many of us need to learn,” she said.

As part of the “Traditions” series at the Performing Arts Center, Red Thunder’s performance will include a prayer to the Great Spirit and a narrative in traditional sign language.

“The fact that these dances are still celebrated, that they are learned from parents and taught to children, ensures the understanding of a way of life,” Weaver said. Tickets cost $15 or $20, and are half-off for students.