Pow Wow Research Paper

The Nation of Choctaw The Choctaws, Mississippi’s largest Indian group, traces its ancestry in the American Southeast to about 1,800 years ago. They migrated from Western-America and Mexico, eventually settling in the Mississippi River Valley Area. They were a great help to the United States Army by becoming the first Native American code talkers. They were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800s along the Trail of Tears. They brought with them traditions, belief, and way of life.

The first powwow that Sawaquat went to taught him that people viewed his heritage as a pastime. The powwow featured hobbyist who dressed up as Native Americans and acted like Native Americans would at a traditional powwow. This made Sawaquat feel ridiculous and it made it look like Native Americans were a joke. It was even harder for Sawaquat to see what the hobbyist were doing to his heritage because he was in a time of questioning and searching for his identity and this event was a step back for him. Sawaquat’s search for self-discovery led him down a path of disappointment.

Some reports say that the word powwow has its origin from the Pawnee word pa-wa, mean¬ing “to eat”, other sources say the word indicates a gathering of people for purpose of celebration or important event. The word Pow Wow, or pau wau, might also means a gathering of people coming together to trade. In any case, it is a special time for people to meet and rejoice, meet old friends and create new friendships. Explorers misinterpreted the ritual of dancing by medicine men, assuming that all natives gathered to sing and dance in this manner.

Chickasaw tribe has a rich tradition steeped in the arts, housing, food , language and society

Every country and nation has they own special festivals and music, and Native American is no exception. First, the native music related many aspects such as ritual, life and work. They like to combine music with dance, and the Native American music always created rich percussion instruments. For example, the hand drum, log drum, water drum and rattle, etc. Powwow is an important festival and ritual for the Native American, and it is a symbol for the tradition culture of Native Indians. Powwow, is a social gathering by the Native American tribes, and they singing and dancing. Powwow is not only a method that the Native American expresses the enthusiasm of the life and peace, but also enhances the sense of identity and cohesion. Hence,

Native Americans have had a long important part of American history. Many of them started out from different descendants and eventually joined up for protection. One of these tribes became massive and ended up getting the name seminoles. The seminoles started out in Florida and had small groups form in Georgia and Alabama. But some were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800s. The seminoles lived by the river valleys, mountains, and the swamp mostly for food, water, and shelter (Seminole Tribe). They had many natural resources including fruit, seeds, nuts, and pumpkins (Seminole Tribe). Overall the seminoles had a great location and plentiful resources.

A government surveyor drew a line separating the Wallowa Valley. The Nez Perce objected. The Nez Perce claimed, “the Indians who signed the new treaty were the leaders of other bands and had no right to give up land that was not even theirs” (Williams & Youngs, 5). This is how the Non-Treaty came about. Soon the whites and Indians fought over the land and Indians were killed, one that was best friend with Joseph, he felt like he was is brother. Burial was granted to bury the Indian in the valley by General Howard.

The American Psychological Association had found that using representation of the mascots “undermines the educational experiences of members of all communities- especially those who have had little or no contact with Indigenous peoples” (APA). When people view a culture being paraded as a mascot, it can become their singular view and knowledge on the ethnic group. There is nothing to stop the formulation of what students know about Native Americans when there are few natives around. With the allowance of mascots to represent Native American in a way as they do now, wearing headdresses or war paint and using “peace pipes” has become a trend and something “cool” to do. Headdresses are traditionally a part of the Plains tribes and are considered sacred. Only revered warriors or significant people could wear war bonnets or headdresses. Feathers, especially eagle feathers, are very sacred to Native Americans. These appropriations continue to be a negative and demeaning aspect of using Native Americans as

Native Americans celebrate a lot of traditions but one of the most popular celebration is Pow wows. Pow wows are also a time to extend native american culture and preserve the rich heritage of american indians. According to the article, What is a Pow wow, “A pow wow is gathering for many different communities”. Native americans have a diverse culture. Some say that Pow wows stand for an “American Indian medicine man”. Pow wows celebrate people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones.

The Choctaws have always been a resourceful and independent people. Having adapted to the harsh environment that is the United States, most of their current 89 000 members are doing well. Some of them live on reservations, others on trust land, but most choose to live in the city. The Oklahoma tribe, currently led by Gary Batton, owns seven casinos, among many other businesses, and their culture is largely intact.    

One of the activities that the Shawnee tribe does is trapping animals, the men of the tribe complete this activity. They do this because they rely on the environment around them to survive, they trap to get food for the tribe. The women oversee making clothing out of the trapped animals fur, the type of clothing the women make depends on the season. The men would wear deerskin loincloth, the women would wear a skin apron in the summer. They also make moccasins out of the animal’s fur and decorate them with bead and feathers. During the winter they would make heavier clothing items to keep warm.

Throughout the semester, we have looked at the long history of non-natives playing Indian and white people performing Indian identity for their own benefit. This is evident in Deloria’s discussion of Morgan and his followers dressing up in Indian costumes, and Barbour’s discussion of Marvel appropriating Indianness to emphasize the heroic masculinity of Captain America. I decided I wanted to learn more about pow wows because they are a performance by natives and for natives to celebrate their culture and customs. Pow wows are a time when Native identity and culture can truly be celebrated and not be tinged with misrepresentation or appropriation. In order to do this, I examined a 1995 documentary called Wacipi – Pow Wow. I thought that the

There are many great things to see and visit in the Southwest. For instance, you can watch rodeos where riders ride on a bull or horse and try to stay on for 8 seconds while with one hand in the air .You can go to powwow a Native American festival. At a powwow, you can hear Native American music, see Native Americans dancing, and eat fry bread a delicious food. Powwows are one of the few places where you can see Native American culture today. You can see some of the greatest natural sights known to man including the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley. In addition, you can go white river rafting on the Colorado River. The natural beauty of the southwest can fill you with awe and excitement! It is clear to see how stunning the southwest

I only remember going to one powwow in my life. It was several years ago when I was just a child at the Cherokee National Holiday celebration. I have seen some other Native dancers at different events but never formal powwows. I have always wanted to see more, but I have never had an opportunity to see another one. So, when I saw I had an assignment where I was required to go to an American Indian event, I knew I wanted to see another powwow. I looked on the Oklahoma Tourism website and found the nearest one to where I live. It was the Restoring Harmony / Stand to Power Powwow at the Westside YMCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I learned a lot about modern tribal initiatives dealing with health, culture, and intertribal relations.

Pow Wows are Native American ceremonies that are all about community and celebration of heritage. At the Pow Wows people gather together from different tribes to dance, pray, laugh, socialize, sing and see old faces once more and make new friends.Now Pow Wows have evolved and have become more about social dances contests have been incorporated to see who has been the best outfit or the who can dance the best.