Powwow, praznovanje ameriške indijske kulture, v katerem se zbirajo ljudje iz različnih avtohtonih narodov z namenom plesa, petja in spoštovanja tradicij svojih prednikov. Izraz powwow, ki izhaja iz rituala strjevanja, izvira iz ene od algonkijskih narodov severovzhodnih Indijancev. V zgodnjih 1800-ih potujoče zdravilo kaže prodajo zdravilnih tonikov, ki so za opisovanje svojih izdelkov uporabljali "powwow". Ti prodajalci so pogosto uporabljali lokalne Indijance, da bi plesali za zabavo potencialnih strank, ki so izraz kmalu uporabile tako na razstavnem plesu kot tudi na patentnih zdravilih. Ime se je prijelo in Indijanci so ji dodali svojo nomenklaturo, s katero so opisovali ples za občinstvo na razstavi.
Danes se prašički odvijajo v obdobju enega do štirih dni in pogosto narišejo plesalce, pevce, umetnike in trgovce od sto kilometrov daleč. Gledalci (vključno z neinindijci) so dobrodošli, saj si udeleženci želijo deliti pozitivne vidike svoje kulture z zunanjimi ljudmi. Sodobne strokovnjake lahko združimo v dva široka oddelka: tekmovalni (ali »tekmovalni«) dogodki in tisti, ki jih imenujemo »tradicionalni«. Tekmovalni dogodki ponujajo veliko nagrad v različnih standardiziranih kategorijah plesa in glasbe. V nasprotju s tem pa tradicionalni navijači ponujajo majhne količine "dnevnega denarja" vsem ali nekaterim delom udeležencev (na primer prvih 10, 20 ali 30 plesalcev, ki se prijavijo) in nimajo tekmovalnega plesa ali petja. Oba oddelka imata isti vrstni red dogodkov in stilov petja in plesa.
Zbiranja, podobna mlaki, so obstajala v večini domačih skupnosti že dolgo pred pojavom evropske naselitve. Plesi so bili običajno povezani z eno od štirih priložnosti: verskimi slovesnostmi, domačimi praznovanji v čast uspešnim vojnim strankam, praznovanjem novih ali ponovno potrjenih zavezništev in dogodki, ki jih sponzorirajo različna društva bojevnikov ali razširjene družinske skupine. Glavna razlika med starodavnimi dogodki in sodobnimi igralci je, da so slednji meddržavni in vključujoči, kar pomeni, da so odprti za vse, ki se želijo udeležiti, medtem ko so predkontaktni dogodki dovolili samo plemenske člane in tiste iz prijateljskih sosednjih plemen na plesu razlogov.
The songs and dances performed at 21st-century powwows derive primarily from those practiced by the warrior societies of the Plains Indians, with the greatest influences coming from the Heluska Warrior Society styles common to the Omaha and Ponca peoples. After the reservation period began (c. 1880), Indian dancers and singers started traveling with Wild West shows such as the one directed by William F. (“Buffalo Bill”) Cody. They soon added an element of crowd-pleasing showmanship, known as “fancying it up.” They also developed an opening parade into the arena, made in precise order. This practice is the direct ancestor of the contemporary powwow’s Grand Entry, during which groups of dancers follow a colour guard into the arena in a predetermined sequence. The Grand Entry not only marks the beginning of the event but also motivates dancers to arrive in a timely manner, because competition points are deducted from those who miss it.
Between the beginning of the reservation era and the end of World War I, the warrior society dances that formed the core of later powwow styles nearly disappeared owing to U.S. and Canadian governmental suppression of traditional Native cultural practices (see Native American: Native American history). After armistice, however, celebrations honouring the return of native veterans fostered the revival of homecoming dances. A new sense of friendship with other American Indian peoples also emerged as the war ended: tribal identity melded to a certain extent with a pan-Indian sense of kinship, and interaction between different tribes increased. In Oklahoma, for instance, where numerous but disparate tribes had been crowded closely together as a result of 19th-century federal removal policies, communities began to invite members of neighbouring tribes to their dances—often called picnics or fairs—as a matter of course. This practice spread to the reservations on the northern Plains as automobiles became common.
Following World War II, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs initiated a program that relocated thousands of Plains Indians into large urban areas, most notably Denver; Minneapolis, Minn.; the San Francisco Bay area; and southern California. This migration sparked a second wave of cultural diffusion and intertribal collaboration, as Indians whose tribal heritage was not from the Plains peoples began to adopt the music and dance styles of that region as their own. The ensuing urbanization of powwow culture encouraged sponsors to hold the largest events in metropolitan (and, later, casino) settings. It also resulted in an intensification of competition and in the formation of a “powwow circuit” with dancers and musicians traveling to competitive events that are scheduled a year or more in advance.
Some aspects of the powwow circuit differ on the basis of location. The “northern style,” originating from the northern Great Plains and the Great Lakes regions, now takes place throughout the northern tier of U.S. states and in Canada. Styles of music and dance that are considered northern include those from the Lakota, Dakota, and other bands of the Sioux nation and from other northern Plains peoples such as the Blackfoot and Ojibwa. “Southern style” powwows have their genesis in the central and western areas of Oklahoma and in the cultures of the southern Plains tribes, including the Kiowa, Comanche, Pawnee, and Ponca peoples. Northern and southern powwow formats are similar in many ways, differing mostly in the presence or absence of specific forms of dance. For instance, the southern forms include men’s southern straight and women’s southern cloth dances, while the northern styles include men’s and women’s traditional dances. Other categories, such as women’s jingle dress and men’s grass dances, began in specific tribal communities but have spread throughout the powwow circuit and are no longer associated with a particular geographic area. Men’s and women’s fancy dances, with origins in the Wild West shows, are also widely popular.
As with powwow dancing, powwow singing is categorized by its practitioners as being either northern or southern in style. The northern style area includes singers from the central and northern Plains, Canada, and the Great Lakes regions, while southern singing is synonymous with that done by the Oklahoma nations. In both traditions, singing is performed by a group of individuals who are arrayed in a circle around a large drum. Musically, all powwow songs share the same basic formal structure, including a steady drumbeat, but southern songs have a lower vocal range and three accented drumbeats between repetitions of each verse. Northern singing is pitched higher, and songs are characterized by drum accent patterns known as “Honour Beats” that occur in the interior of each song rather than between verses. In the southern tradition, drumming is an exclusively male activity: men play the drum while singing, and women sing while standing in a circle around the men. In the northern tradition, however, women may also “sit at the drum” occasionally, depending on the traditional practices of their community. See also Native American dance; Native American music.
