Great Plains Studies, Center for
Date of this Version
2006
Abstract
Powwow invites readers into the dancing circle where a cornucopia of information, analysis, and interpretation vibrates, telling us about the popular intertribal celebration. The topic of American Indian powwows creates strong emotions and colorful stories, and the editors invite several authors into the "dance arena" of this book to share their research and experiences. As a result, readers will hear the drum, see traditional and fancy dancers, smell the sizzling fry bread, and feel the spirit that is the American Indian powwow. The editors point out that powwows vary in size from the larger Red Earth gathering on the Great Plains with its big money prizes for dancers and drummers to smaller family and social powwow celebrations. The editors and authors point out the common characteristics of powwows, including the grand entry, prayers, flag songs, intertribal dances, giveaways, honors, and specials, but they also argue that powwows are not static but "ever-changing, evolving, and negotiated." Some of the authors view the powwow as a pan-Indian phenomenon, while others point out tribal and group nuances that make powwows unique.
Comments
Published in GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY 26:4 (Fall 2006). Copyright © 2006 Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.