Monday 4 March 2019

Native American Pow Wows And American History

By Laura Butler


While Indian tribes first became well distinguished during the civil war, most have become better known since that time. As the cultural and historical aspects of Native Americans are not generally taught in public schools, most individuals learn about this history through various events such as annual gatherings held by different tribes. While Native american pow wows are quite popular, there are several tribes whom have claimed to have hosted the first pow wow.

The first pow wows were public dances akin to those performed at gatherings which now take place around the United States. Originally, the events were an ongoing practice among tribes in the Great Plains, with most taking place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. As the United States had began fragmenting various tribes in an effort to acquire Native American lands for economic exploration and growth, it was a difficult time for a number of tribes.

While laws were created to limit these celebrations by Native American communities, many tribes continued to gather together to practice cultural aspects of the tribes in secret. As a result, new pow wows began taking place in the Great Lakes region by the 19th century. After which, the celebrations began to spread across the United States with different tribes celebrating and holding pow wows on an annual basis.

Organizing and planning such an event now begins months, if not a year in advance by a group of people who make up an organizational committee. Many of these gatherings are sponsored by Native American clubs, communities and organizations. Whereas, others might be sponsored by specific tribes or Native American Studies programs such as the one located at Humboldt State University in Northern California.

Committees often consist of several individuals whom pre-plan the event in entirety. After which, the committee then begins to organize different aspects of the pow-wow. Most importantly, the committee is responsible for hiring staff, securing a location, recruiting vendors, organizing volunteers and publicizing the event.

Staff members are in charge of day to day operations of the pow wow. These individuals are often hired several months in advance to assure each individual receives proper training and that staff members can handle different assignments. For, the quality and performance of staff during each event often contribute to attendance at future gatherings. As such, it is important these individuals work together to provide the best experience possible for those attending the event.

Most pow wows have an arena director whom is in charge during the event. Sometimes known as a whip man, the whip man is the director's assistant though there are a number of gatherings which do not have a whip man. When this is the case, the arena director often takes on the role of assistant and director.

In the case of events which include contests, the arena director is ultimately responsible for providing judges. Most often, these types of events will have someone other than the arena director act as head judge. When it comes to setting up and hosting ceremonies such as rites of passage, marriage ceremonies, eagle feather dropping and others, the arena director often takes the place of a whip man.




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