{"id":18,"date":"2015-02-09T16:41:33","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T16:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.com\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2026-02-18T13:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:54:33","slug":"what-is-a-pow-wow","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/?page_id=18","title":{"rendered":"What Is A Pow-Wow"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>What is a Pow Wow?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Powwow time is Native people meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and making new ones. This is a time to renew thoughts of the old ways and to preserve a rich heritage.Originally a Powwow, or \u201ccelebration\u201d as it was called in the old days, was held in the spring to welcome the new beginnings of life. Often different tribal nations would come together for the occasion. During these general meetings the Native American Indians would settle arguments between different groups, form alliances, and trade with one another. It was also a time for families to hold naming and honoring ceremonies. The original <span class=\"SpellE\">Pow<\/span> Wows often were of religious significance and therefore consisted of different religious songs and dances. Please note that at contemporary <span class=\"SpellE\">Pow<\/span> Wows religious dances are usually not performed.Some trace the word \u201cPowwow\u201d to the Algonquin language. The term originally pronounced \u201c<span class=\"SpellE\">pauau<\/span>\u201d or \u201c<span class=\"SpellE\">pau<\/span> <span class=\"SpellE\">wau<\/span>\u201d meaning gathering of medicine men and <span class=\"SpellE\">spritual<\/span> leaders in a curing ceremony. The early European settlers thought that the term referred to a council or large gatherings of Native peoples, so the word spread throughout the nation. As the American Indians learned the English language, they accepted the term and definition given to their social gatherings.A contemporary Powwow is a social event for everyone to have a fun and entertaining time, whether you\u2019re a Native American or just interested in Native American cultures. <span class=\"SpellE\">Pow<\/span> Wows offer a time for Native Americans or just interested in Native American cultures. <span class=\"SpellE\">Pow<\/span> Wows offer a time for Native Americans from a variety of different tribal nations to get together and participate in visiting, singing, and dancing. It is also a chance for our non-Indian friends and families to take part in inter-tribal dancing as a Powwow is considered a cultural sharing event for all to learn about Native Americans and share ideas and information.The circle is an important symbol to Indian cultures because it symbolizes the continuation of life. To the Native American people, life is never ending, like the circle. The Powwow brings the circle of the people closer together \u2013 closer to their community and their culture.Powwows today are still very much a part of the lives of modern Indian people. The Powwow season runs from March to September or later, and some families \u201cgo the circuit\u201d for the entire season. <span class=\"SpellE\">Competitive<\/span> singing and dancing for prize money is a fairly recent change in the <span class=\"SpellE\">traditiona<\/span> Powwows. Only registered contestants can participate in the dancing contests.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/?attachment_id=557\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-557\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-557\" src=\"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/293746086_5397516390271678_1430679041387992650_n-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1387\" height=\"815\" srcset=\"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/293746086_5397516390271678_1430679041387992650_n-1.jpg 880w, https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/293746086_5397516390271678_1430679041387992650_n-1-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/293746086_5397516390271678_1430679041387992650_n-1-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/293746086_5397516390271678_1430679041387992650_n-1-418x246.jpg 418w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1387px) 100vw, 1387px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is a Pow Wow?\u00a0 Powwow time is Native people meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships and making new ones. This is a time to renew thoughts of the old ways and to preserve a rich heritage.Originally a Powwow, or \u201ccelebration\u201d as it was called in the old days, was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":756,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":558,"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18\/revisions\/558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kahnawakepowwow.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}