The Purpose of Pow Wow

The pow wow is a day of traditional dancing, speaking, and praying in word, song, and music for all that lives. It is a gathering that symbolizes a renewal of unity in the spirit of all living beings.

Host of Choices podcast and USO Mob at 2024 Pow Wow, WCC (Grace Deng)

Traditionally, the Pow Wow is an opportunity for a coming - together of people from different communities, tribes, or nations for the purpose of renewing old friendships, creating new friendships, celebrating our native heritage, and feeling alive with the beating of the drum, the heart of mother earth, and the heart of native people. Although the dancing and singing may appear as entertainment or a form of theatrics, the pow wow experience has a deep spiritual significance for Native people, who believe that both the dancing and singing are a form of prayer and a sacred source of healing power, or medicine.

Traditionally, pow wows are held within the realm of the sacred circle, which represents the unity of all living beings in the greater circle of life. Thus, the pow wow serves not only as a social gathering in which people share good food, swap stories, and catch-up on the latest news, But also serves as a symbolic gathering of all living beings in the harmony and balance of relationships on mother earth. 

So when we enter the circle and the camaraderie of all our Indigenous peoples, we come with a sense of humility, respect, excitement, and peace.

For Indigenous people that are within the confines of state facilities this means we are able to promote and celebrate our culture and identity. It is these things that are an integral part of Indigenous rehabilitation/reintegration back to the communities we all come from with better self awareness and connections to who we are. The preparation and efforts put into these pow wow ceremonies reconnect us to our ancestors and the teachings of the people from tribe to tribe. Historically our people endure generational traumas and our way of life is challenged everyday in this modern world through assimilation and misrepresentation. The Native American Circle: Tribal Sons strive to overcome these obstacles with cultural programming and maintaining our ceremonies that are the core of our identity. 

What this means for Indigenous people on the inside is we get to promote, connect, and celebrate who we are as Indigenous people. During our wow wow ceremonies we can show our family, friends, and community that we are so much more than the intergenerational traumas and intergenerational incarceration that impacts Indian country. Pow wow is a way to remember that we are more than a state issued number...

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