Powwow: A Celebration through Song and Dance

by Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane

Overview

★ “Clearly organized and educational—an incredibly useful tool for both school and public libraries.” —School Library Journal, starred review

Powwow is a celebration of Indigenous song and dance. Journey through the history of powwow culture in North America, from its origins to the thriving powwow culture of today. As a lifelong competitive powwow dancer, Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane is a guide to the protocols, regalia, songs, dances and even food you can find at powwows from coast to coast, as well as the important role they play in Indigenous culture and reconciliation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459812345
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	04/21/2020
Series:	Orca Origins Series , #7
Pages:	88
Sales rank:	513,895
Product dimensions:	7.70(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	1170L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Karen Pheasant-Neganigwane is an Anishinaabe dancer, educator, writer, artist and orator from Wiikwemkoong on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Her grandparents, maternal and paternal, come from Wiikwemkoong. Her parents are residential school survivors. Karen is a PhD candidate in Educational Policy Studies/Indigenous Peoples Education at the University of Alberta and is an Assistant Professor at Mount Royal University in the Treaty Seven region. She is cross-appointed to the Department of General Education, Office of Teaching and Learning, and the Department of Humanities–Indigenous Studies. Her book, Powwow: A Celebration Through Song and Dance, was short-listed for a number of awards and won the CCBC Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction. Karen lives in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Origins of Powwow Culture

Colonization 10

The Indian Act and the Pass System 11

The Wild West Shows 15

Fall Fairs 18

A Growing Powwow Culture 21

Banned No Longer 21

Twelve Months a Year 22

My Father's Story 25

Chapter 2 What Is Powwow Culture?

The Powwow Grounds 30

The Emcee 31

The Grand Entry 32

Competition 34

The Giveaway 36

Stories 37

Restoring Kinship 38

Chapter 3 Powwow Songs and Dances

Drums 42

The Drum 43

Dance Categories and Styles 44

Men's Traditional Dance 45

Men's Fancy Dance 47

Men's Grass Dance 48

Women's Traditional Dance 49

Women's Fancy Shawl Dance 50

Women's Jingle Dress Dance 52

Intertribal and Social Dances 54

My Drum Story 56

Chapter 4 Powwows from Coast to Coast

Central Canada 60

The Canadian Prairies 62

The American Northern Plains 65

The Pacific Northwest 66

The Southwest 67

The East 69

The Midwest 70

Attending a Powwow 70

A Final Word from the Author 72

Glossary 74

Resources 76

Index 78

Acknowledgments 81

Editorial Reviews

Authentic, informative and celebratory. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Full of beautiful, colourful photographs...This is an enriching introduction to the wide spectrum of powwows."

Niagra Enscarpment Views

Attractive, informative, and essential for diverse collections.

Booklist

★ 03/01/2020

Gr 5 Up—Pheasant-Neganigwane, a lifelong Anishinaabe competitive powwow dancer and educator, summarizes the basics of powwow culture through a series of sections highlighting its origins, current elements, songs and dances, and regional differences across Canada and the United States. The author clearly explains the origins of the powwow within colonization, as well as its evolution and growing popularity. Sidebars describe different elements of the powwow, supplementing the main text, while other pullout sections provide directions for popular First Nations recipes. A range of high-quality, black-and-white photographs from different powwows also supplement the text. A glossary and an index are included in the back matter. The book is clearly organized and educational—an incredibly useful tool for both school and public libraries. Readers will enjoy learning about current powwows as well as their rich history within Indigenous culture. VERDICT This comprehensive primer of the history and importance of the powwow in North American Indigenous culture is a necessary purchase.—Kelsey Socha, Springfield City Library, MA

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
The modern powwow has been uniting Indigenous peoples in joyous celebration of culture for decades, but its roots are far older.

Anishninaabe author and educator Pheasant-Neganigwane has crafted a narrative that tells the history of the powwow, a celebration of Indigenous culture that occurs throughout North America. She describes the history of colonization and Indigenous resistance that culminated in the 19th century—a time when song and dance gatherings also were restricted by both the governments of Canada and the U.S. Holding steadfast to traditional culture and expressing it in the unlikeliest of places—the so-called "wild west shows" and harvest fairs—Indigenous peoples gradually developed these gatherings of song and dance into what are now vibrant celebrations that occur across the continent all year long. The powwow includes many aspects of Indigenous culture: rodeos, fashion shows, and even music awards. The gallery of photos throughout the book gives readers seats at a powwow, an event that is described as a continual space to restore kinship and preserve Indigenous identity. Weaving her own powwow experiences into her narrative, the author describes the formal elements of a powwow as well as regional variations. Sidebars look at related topics such as fry bread and victory songs, and the book ends with a brief primer of powwow etiquette and glossary of cultural vocabulary.

An enriching, information-rich resource that centers an Indigenous perspective. (resources) (Nonfiction. 8-14)

Kirkus Reviews