<Adapted
from the book of the same name>
50
YEARS OF POWWOW: THE EXHIBITION OF STORYTELLING
"50 Years of Powwow" is a triumphant
visual arts exhibition commemorating 50 years of community and
cultural celebration.
As a result, the exhibition accomplishes placement of Native Americans
into the 21st century, laying to rest the myth of dependency and
replacing it with a message of self-determination and cultural
pride.
"50 Years of Powwow" portrays
a retrospective of Chicago powwows. This collection of photographs
fuses contemporary media with the ancient practice of storytelling.
For centuries, Native American storytelling has been an oral
tradition, establishing teachings from generation to generation. "50
Years of Powwow" is an act of celebration and a re appropriation
of image as we combat years of misrepresentation by mass
media and pop culture. "50 Years of Powwow" is
aimed at enhancing an unwritten culture, to provide first
voice insight into intertribal urban Native American customs. |
Irene Bedard (the voice and model for Disney's Pocahontas)
and DENI perform at New Years' Eve Celebration and
opening of the exhibit. American Indian Center of Chicago,
2003
|
Cricketthill Singers performing at the Chicago Historical
Society "50 Years of Powwow" Opening. February 8, 2003.
|
The themes produced by "50 Years of Powwow" covers
issues relating to the role of family, the role of the veteran
as the protector, the survival of language through the oral
tradition (song), Chicago Native American Intertribal history,
and personal stories that reflect pride, dignity, patriotism,
resistance, and the evolution and consequences of a community
of displaced people.
|
Our goals are both to explore traditionalism targeting
the question of fusing traditions into contemporary Western ideology
and methodology and provide understanding of why Native Americans
do what they do. Retaining traditional practices in urban centers
has been difficult; living in two worlds presents a unique lifestyle
and environment.
"50 Years of Powwow" provides
a platform for dialogue and understanding of contemporary
Native American life, from historical tragedies and displacement
to how these occurrences affect Native People, the loss and/or
evolution of traditional practices, and Native identity today. |
The Field Museum Installation of "50 Years
of Powwow" Exhibition, July 2003. |
"50 Years of Powwow" is
an opportunity to share in the oldest form of social gathering
in North America.
To learn more about Powwows, Dances
and Songs in Native cultures today, visit this offsite link: http://www.powwows.com/
Forward to the next page of this essay
Back to the previous page of this essay
Back to the menu page for this essay
Back to Online Essays
|
The book Chicago's Fifty
Years of Powwow has many more photos and offers insights
that are not presented in this Online Essay. To obtain a copy
of your own, follow this offsite link to the webpage for the Chicago
American Indian Center. |
|
