A powwow is a gathering with dances held by many Native American and First Nations communities. Powwows today are an opportunity for Indigenous people to socialize, dance, sing, and honor their cultures. Powwows may be private or public, indoors or outdoors. Dancing events can be competitive with monetary prizes. Powwows vary in length from single-day to weeklong events.
Indigenous music of North America, which includes American Indian music or Native American music, is the music that is used, created or performed by Indigenous peoples of North America, including Native Americans in the United States and Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Mexico, and other North American countries—especially traditional tribal music, such as Pueblo music and Inuit music. In addition to the traditional music of the Native American groups, there now exist pan-Indianism and intertribal genres as well as distinct Native American subgenres of popular music including: rock, blues, hip hop, classical, film music, and reggae, as well as unique popular styles like chicken scratch and New Mexico music.
The Grammy Award for Best Native American Music Album was an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the Native American music genre. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position".
The Cozad Singers are a Kiowa drum group from Anadarko, Oklahoma. The group was founded by Leonard Cozad, Sr. in the 1930s, and consists of Leonard, his sons, grandsons, and other members of the family. Cozad, as they are commonly known, are southern style pow-wow and gourd drum, and have released several albums. They performed on the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Native American Music Album winning Gathering of Nations Pow Wow album, along with 15 other drum groups. Their most recent album, California Pow Wow, was released by SOAR Records in June, 2004, and won the 2005 Native American Music Award for Best Historical Recording.
Fancy dance, Pan-Indian dancing, Fancy Feather or Fancy War Dance is a style of dance some believe was originally created by members of the Ponca tribe in the 1920s and 1930s, in an attempt to preserve their culture and religion. It is loosely based on the war dance. Fancy dance was considered appropriate to be performed for visitors to reservations and at "Wild West" shows. But today, fancy dancers can be seen at many powwows across the nation and even the world.
The Black Lodge Singers of White Swan, Washington are a Native American northern drum group led by Kenny ScabbyRobe, of the Blackfeet Nation. The Black Lodge Singers are largely drawn from his twelve sons. They have released twenty albums for Canyon Records, including two albums of pow wow songs for children.
Robert Mirabal is a Pueblo musician and Native American flute player and maker from Taos Pueblo, New Mexico.
Ohsweken is a dispersed rural community located within the Six Nations of the Grand River, in the County of Brant, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 300 of the 2,700 homes on the reserve are in Ohsweken, and it is the site of the reserve governmental and administrative offices.
Robert Tree Cody was an American musician, dancer, and educator. He graduated from John Marshall High School in 1969. Robert was an adopted son of Hollywood actor Iron Eyes Cody.
Red Earth is an American rock band from Albuquerque, New Mexico which has released three independent albums.
Jingle dress is a First Nations and Native American women's pow wow regalia and dance. North Central College associate professor Matthew Krystal notes, in his book, Indigenous Dance and Dancing Indian: Contested Representation in the Global Era, that "Whereas men's styles offer Grass Dance as a healing themed dance, women may select Jingle Dress Dance." The regalia worn for the dance is a jingle dress, which includes ornamentation with multiple rows of metal, such as cones, that create a jingling sound as the dancer moves.
A pow wow is a gathering of Native Americans.
Gathering of Nations Pow Wow 1999 is a compilation album by various artists, released on May 23, 2000. The album features music from the annual event "Gathering of Nations Pow Wow" in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It contains live recordings from the 1999 event with 19 different drum groups from various Native American tribes. It received the Grammy Award for Best Native American Music Album in 2001, the first time this award was held. AllMusic recommends the album to anyone who is already a fan of powwow music, "simply because it is an exceptionally high quality recording."
The Halluci Nation, formerly known as A Tribe Called Red, is a Canadian electronic music group who blend instrumental hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming. Based in Ottawa, Ontario, the group consists of Tim "2oolman" Hill, and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas. Former members include co-founder DJ Jon Deck and Dan "DJ Shub" General, who left the band for personal reasons in spring 2014, and was replaced by Hill. Co-founder Ian "DJ NDN" Campeau left the band for health reasons in October 2017, with the band opting to remain a duo for the time being.
Long Plain First Nation Annual Pow-wow began in 1876. It is one of Manitoba’s longest running pow-wow celebrations. The contest usually occurs during August long week-end from Friday evening to Sunday night. Long Plain First Nation (Ojibway) is a First Nation identified by AANDC as Indian Band No. 6. The community is located in the Central Plains region of Manitoba, to the southwest of Portage la Prairie along the Assiniboine River, and lies between the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie and the Rural Municipality of South Norfolk.
Cris Derksen is a two-spirit Juno Award–nominated Cree cellist from Northern Alberta, Canada. Derksen is known for her unique musical sound which blends classical music with traditional Indigenous music. Her music is often described as "electronic cello" or classical traditional fusion.
Acosia Red Elk is a jingle dress dancer from the Umatilla people of Oregon. A descendant of Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, she did not become interested in dancing until she was 16, when she taught herself to dance from videos of other jingle dancers. Red Elk began dancing professionally in 1998 with her then-husband, Paris Leighton, visiting up to 50 pow wows a year for ten years.
Founded in 1983, Miss Indian World is a five-day competition held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event is part of the annual Gathering of Nations, the largest Native American powwow in the world. Young women from across North America represent their tribes and communities as they compete to win the crown. Rather than emphasizing contestants' outward appearance, Miss Indian World aims to select a winner who demonstrates a deep understanding of her culture, traditions, people and history.
Northern Cree, also known as the Northern Cree Singers, is a powwow and Round Dance drum and singing group based in Maskwacis, Alberta, Canada. Formed in 1980 by Randy Wood, with brothers Charlie and Earl Wood of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, members originate from the Treaty 6 area. These include Ferlin McGillvary, Steve Wood, Joel Wood, and Conan Yellowbird.
Bryden Gwiss Kiwenzie is a Canadian musician whose debut album Round Dance & Beats (Powwow) was a shortlisted nominee for both the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2017 and Best Hand Drum Album of the year at the 2017 Indigenous Music Awards.
