What do you think?
Rate this book
Celebrating the Powwow
Examines Native American powwow celebrations, discussing the preparation, grand entry, competitions, traditional costumes, instruments, and symbols
32 pages, Library Binding
First published March 1, 1997
About the author
Bobbie Kalman
1,151 books32 followersBobbie Kalman (1947 - ) is the award-winning Canadian author of more than 400 non-fiction books.
She established herself as a leading author in children’s non-fiction in the 1980’s and 90’s with two acclaimed series about pioneer life, The Early Settler Life Series (15 titles) and The Historic Communities Series (31 titles), both published by Crabtree Publishing.
She has created many of Crabtree’s most popular series, which also include The Native Nations of North America Series (19 titles), The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures Series (93 titles), and The Science of Living Things Series (32 titles), among others.
Born in Hungary in 1947, Bobbie and her family escaped to Austria during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The family spent several weeks there as refugees before immigrating to North America. A former teacher, Bobbie Kalman taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. She also spent several years working as an educational consultant for several publishing companies. Bobbie holds degrees in English, Psychology, and Education. She is married and has four children and three grandchildren.
Although best known for her non-fiction, Bobbie’s newest book is autobiographical. Released in September, 2006, Refugee Child is the account of Bobbie and her family’s escape from Hungary when she was just nine years old. Written to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in October of 2006, the book is told from the perspective of a young girl.
She established herself as a leading author in children’s non-fiction in the 1980’s and 90’s with two acclaimed series about pioneer life, The Early Settler Life Series (15 titles) and The Historic Communities Series (31 titles), both published by Crabtree Publishing.
She has created many of Crabtree’s most popular series, which also include The Native Nations of North America Series (19 titles), The Lands, Peoples, and Cultures Series (93 titles), and The Science of Living Things Series (32 titles), among others.
Born in Hungary in 1947, Bobbie and her family escaped to Austria during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. The family spent several weeks there as refugees before immigrating to North America. A former teacher, Bobbie Kalman taught at both the elementary and secondary levels. She also spent several years working as an educational consultant for several publishing companies. Bobbie holds degrees in English, Psychology, and Education. She is married and has four children and three grandchildren.
Although best known for her non-fiction, Bobbie’s newest book is autobiographical. Released in September, 2006, Refugee Child is the account of Bobbie and her family’s escape from Hungary when she was just nine years old. Written to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in October of 2006, the book is told from the perspective of a young girl.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 18, 2020
I thought this was informative and covered the entire powwow from start to finish. I feel like I understand them more now. I knew most of the content before reading but there was new information too. I liked the pictures, especially the older man with red face paint, the eagle fan and the eagle head, and the teepee all lit up at dusk, and the young man with the white stripes of paint down his face, holding the drum with a Thunderbird.
I wish they would do a new edition of this because the pictures are outdated; you can tell by the clothing and quality. It would be so much better with modern pictures. I wished for more dances to be shared and even more pictures of costumes with explanations on designs and colors and meanings.
It’s cool that powwows are the oldest North American celebration.
People meet relatives and friends from across the country at powwows.
Turtles and eagles are very important to the First Nations. They call it Turtle Island. The turtle plays a large part in the creation of the world in many stories. That’s why outfits often have turtle designs.
The eagle is believed to be the messenger of the Great Spirit. Eagle feathers stand for wisdom. If a feather falls off a costume during a dance, the dancers form a circle of protection around it. Everyone is silent, and an elder says a prayer, picks up the feather, and gives it back to the owner with a reminder to take care of the sacred object.
Circles are important because it’s the shape of many things in nature like the sun, moon, and earth. The seasons form a circle as they change each year. Dances are performed in a circle and drummers play in a circle.
The powwow trail isn’t just a journey from powwow to powwow, it’s also a journey for the heart and mind, a way to strengthen beliefs or values. This journey is made every day, not just as powwows. The powwow trail is a way of life to many.
Family members help each other get dressed. There are several parts to each outfit. Moms and grandmas do the embroidering, beading, and quillwork to make the designs and patterns.
Each Nation has its own design and traditional patterns of beading. A person from one Nation can identify another Nation by looking at the beadwork.
Many camp out at the powwows. Some Plains Nations people put up teepees in a circle.
Grand entry begins with and elder leading a line of dancers into the dance area. They form a circle. The elder says a prayer and welcome speech. They put four flags up to represent the 4 directions. To many white is north, yellow is east, red is south, and black or dark blue is west, but the colors vary. A flag song is sung and at some powwows the National Anthem is.
At some powwows the princesses are among the first people to join grand entry. She’s a young girl who wins a pageant to represent her Nation for a year. This custom started with the First Nations of western North America.
The drum is sacred and its sound represents the heartbeat of each Nation and Mother Earth. When it isn’t it’s covered with a blanket out of respect.
The whistle and flute have a special meaning because they sound like the wind. The rattle is a symbol of hail, crickets, and rattlesnakes.
There are many drum groups at a powwow. There’s a head singer that leads the songs. The host drum is the main drum group, and is chosen by the Nations attending the powwow. Being chosen is a great honor.
There’s a different song for each kind of dance. Some songs are sung with words and some with vocables, vowels that are repeated, like “weyaheyeh, weyaheyeh,” and some are sung with both.
Men’s regalia differs according to the dance they perform. Those worn by fancy dancers are more colorful than traditional outfits. They often have a second bustle.
A bonnet is a feather headdress. It hangs from the top of the man’s head and down his back in a double row of feathers. A roach is made of porcupine quills or horsehair and has many feathers in the center. Some headdresses are masks that represent animals, but not all Nations wear masks.
There is the headdress, bustle (at the back), necklace, shirt yoke (around the shoulders), breastplate, sash around the waist, apron, wristband or gauntlet, dancing stick trimmed with eagle feathers, full-length leggings, and moccasins.
Some women wear a shawl over their outfit. Some carry a shawl over their arm. Some carry an eagle feather fan. Traditional outfits can include a dress, shawl, collar, medallion, cape, necklace, breastplate with beadwork, ribbons, wristband or gauntlet, eagle feather fan, beaded purse, skirt and leggings reaching the knees under the skirt, and moccasins.
In the past men and women wore their hair in braids. Today many wear their hair in braids but some wear it short. Both adorn their hair with beads or feathers.
Some dances are only open to the people of the same Nation and some are open to all Nations. When many people from different Nations dance together non-competitively, it’s called an inter-tribal dance. The first and last are always inter-tribal. The dancers move clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction depends on the tradition of the Nation in whose territory the powwow is being held.
Fancy dances are livelier than traditional dances. They wear feathers dyed in bright colors. Some wear metallic beads, sequins, and ribbons and wear two bustles.
The Shawl Dance is the women’s fancy dance. She wears the shawl over her shoulders and holds the ends in her hands. She jumps and turns to the fast drumbeat and the shawl can’t touch the ground.
The Hoop Dance is a fancy men’s dance. Some say the hoops symbolize the “circle of life.”
The Jingle Dress Dance is a lively dance for girls and women.
The Grass Dance has the dancers stomping their feet as if to flatten grass. In the past the men wore sweet grass in their belts and as they moved it swayed like grass in the wind. Today ribbon and yarn are used in place of grass.
The contests have 5 categories. Tiny tots ages 1-5, juvenile 6-12, junior 13-17, senior 18-49, golden age over 50.
Most kids perform fancy dances. Golden-age dancers usually perform traditional dances.
They’re judged for their moves, outfits, and how well they know the music. They have to stop on the last beat of the drum and if not they lose points. They can win a lot of money if they do well. They’re proud of their dance skills and their culture.
At the end of many powwows there is a giveaway for the tradition of sharing and honoring. Those who organized the powwow or did good deeds in the community are honored. Gifts for drummers, elders, or dancers are sometimes laid on a blanket. Another type of giveaway is when a girl is given a shawl to welcome her as a powwow dancer.
It traditionally ends with an honor song and a prayer for a safe journey.
I wish they would do a new edition of this because the pictures are outdated; you can tell by the clothing and quality. It would be so much better with modern pictures. I wished for more dances to be shared and even more pictures of costumes with explanations on designs and colors and meanings.
It’s cool that powwows are the oldest North American celebration.
People meet relatives and friends from across the country at powwows.
Turtles and eagles are very important to the First Nations. They call it Turtle Island. The turtle plays a large part in the creation of the world in many stories. That’s why outfits often have turtle designs.
The eagle is believed to be the messenger of the Great Spirit. Eagle feathers stand for wisdom. If a feather falls off a costume during a dance, the dancers form a circle of protection around it. Everyone is silent, and an elder says a prayer, picks up the feather, and gives it back to the owner with a reminder to take care of the sacred object.
Circles are important because it’s the shape of many things in nature like the sun, moon, and earth. The seasons form a circle as they change each year. Dances are performed in a circle and drummers play in a circle.
The powwow trail isn’t just a journey from powwow to powwow, it’s also a journey for the heart and mind, a way to strengthen beliefs or values. This journey is made every day, not just as powwows. The powwow trail is a way of life to many.
Family members help each other get dressed. There are several parts to each outfit. Moms and grandmas do the embroidering, beading, and quillwork to make the designs and patterns.
Each Nation has its own design and traditional patterns of beading. A person from one Nation can identify another Nation by looking at the beadwork.
Many camp out at the powwows. Some Plains Nations people put up teepees in a circle.
Grand entry begins with and elder leading a line of dancers into the dance area. They form a circle. The elder says a prayer and welcome speech. They put four flags up to represent the 4 directions. To many white is north, yellow is east, red is south, and black or dark blue is west, but the colors vary. A flag song is sung and at some powwows the National Anthem is.
At some powwows the princesses are among the first people to join grand entry. She’s a young girl who wins a pageant to represent her Nation for a year. This custom started with the First Nations of western North America.
The drum is sacred and its sound represents the heartbeat of each Nation and Mother Earth. When it isn’t it’s covered with a blanket out of respect.
The whistle and flute have a special meaning because they sound like the wind. The rattle is a symbol of hail, crickets, and rattlesnakes.
There are many drum groups at a powwow. There’s a head singer that leads the songs. The host drum is the main drum group, and is chosen by the Nations attending the powwow. Being chosen is a great honor.
There’s a different song for each kind of dance. Some songs are sung with words and some with vocables, vowels that are repeated, like “weyaheyeh, weyaheyeh,” and some are sung with both.
Men’s regalia differs according to the dance they perform. Those worn by fancy dancers are more colorful than traditional outfits. They often have a second bustle.
A bonnet is a feather headdress. It hangs from the top of the man’s head and down his back in a double row of feathers. A roach is made of porcupine quills or horsehair and has many feathers in the center. Some headdresses are masks that represent animals, but not all Nations wear masks.
There is the headdress, bustle (at the back), necklace, shirt yoke (around the shoulders), breastplate, sash around the waist, apron, wristband or gauntlet, dancing stick trimmed with eagle feathers, full-length leggings, and moccasins.
Some women wear a shawl over their outfit. Some carry a shawl over their arm. Some carry an eagle feather fan. Traditional outfits can include a dress, shawl, collar, medallion, cape, necklace, breastplate with beadwork, ribbons, wristband or gauntlet, eagle feather fan, beaded purse, skirt and leggings reaching the knees under the skirt, and moccasins.
In the past men and women wore their hair in braids. Today many wear their hair in braids but some wear it short. Both adorn their hair with beads or feathers.
Some dances are only open to the people of the same Nation and some are open to all Nations. When many people from different Nations dance together non-competitively, it’s called an inter-tribal dance. The first and last are always inter-tribal. The dancers move clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction depends on the tradition of the Nation in whose territory the powwow is being held.
Fancy dances are livelier than traditional dances. They wear feathers dyed in bright colors. Some wear metallic beads, sequins, and ribbons and wear two bustles.
The Shawl Dance is the women’s fancy dance. She wears the shawl over her shoulders and holds the ends in her hands. She jumps and turns to the fast drumbeat and the shawl can’t touch the ground.
The Hoop Dance is a fancy men’s dance. Some say the hoops symbolize the “circle of life.”
The Jingle Dress Dance is a lively dance for girls and women.
The Grass Dance has the dancers stomping their feet as if to flatten grass. In the past the men wore sweet grass in their belts and as they moved it swayed like grass in the wind. Today ribbon and yarn are used in place of grass.
The contests have 5 categories. Tiny tots ages 1-5, juvenile 6-12, junior 13-17, senior 18-49, golden age over 50.
Most kids perform fancy dances. Golden-age dancers usually perform traditional dances.
They’re judged for their moves, outfits, and how well they know the music. They have to stop on the last beat of the drum and if not they lose points. They can win a lot of money if they do well. They’re proud of their dance skills and their culture.
At the end of many powwows there is a giveaway for the tradition of sharing and honoring. Those who organized the powwow or did good deeds in the community are honored. Gifts for drummers, elders, or dancers are sometimes laid on a blanket. Another type of giveaway is when a girl is given a shawl to welcome her as a powwow dancer.
It traditionally ends with an honor song and a prayer for a safe journey.
January 23, 2016
Informative.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews