Powwow

by George Ancona

George Ancona travels to Montana to attend Crow Fair, the largest Powwow held in the United States. Through beautiful full-color photographs, he offers an exceptional look at this unique celebration of Native American pride.

Genres: Native American, Nonfiction, Cultural

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

George Ancona was an author and photographer who has published more that one hundred books, some of them bilingual. He was known for his exquisite photography and close-up looks at a variety of cultural subjects. He lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Reviews

[Lindsay Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

All about Native American Powwow's. Great photographs!

[Savannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Powwow
Author/photographer: George Ancona
Genre: photographic essay
Theme(s): Native Americans, dance rituals, Crow Fair
Opening line/sentence: “One story told is that the word powwow came from French explorers who misunderstood the native word describing a gathering of people coming together to trade.”
Brief book summary: George Ancona’s photographs capture the rich culture of contemporary Native Americans in this photographic essay of Crow Fair. He provides detailed descriptions and photographs of their dances, clothing, rituals, ceremonies, and more. Additionally, the it honors the culture of the Native Americans.
Professional Recommendation/review #1:

Horn Book Review
Harcourt Trade Publishers

(http://www.hornbookguide.com/cgi-bin/...)

Montana's annual Crow Fair is a proud, colorful event that Ancona documents beautifully in his color photographs. The photo-essay explains the construction of teepees, the opening parade, the assembling of singers and drummers, and the ceremony in which children are introduced into the dance community. This vibrant introduction honors the purpose and skills of the Native Americans gathered for the powwow and conveys the universal appeal of spectacle and celebration.

Professional Recommendation/review #2:
Kirkus Reviews

(https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...)

Capturing the flash and rhythm of Native American dances as performed during a ``pan-Indian'' Crow Fair in Montana, photographer Ancona is at his experienced best. Featured here is Anthony Standing Rock, a boy transformed from T-shirted kid to warrior-dancer; but the real focus is on the on four kinds of dancers--Traditional, Fancy, Grass, and Jingle-dress--and on the grace and excitement of their performances. Complementary photos and text are skillfully interwoven to explain the customary clothing, the dances' different styles, and the pride and honor the rituals convey. Particularly moving are some individual ceremonies: a giveaway of items for an honored dancer; a family dance to welcome a little girl into the ranks of the dancers. The unity of the many tribes engaged in the ceremony, the sense of family, and the cherishing of actively participating children are all themes young people will appreciate. A lively, positive portrayal of contemporary Native Americans.

Response to two professional reviews: The ending sentence of the second review describes this photographic essay perfectly. Readers are enveloped in a wave of rich, cultural facts about contemporary Native Americans. Both reviews make note of this. The first review highlights explanations and honors that are given in the story. The second review focuses more on the Native Americans’ dances, and feels as though that is the focus of the essay. I’m not sure I agree with either of them.

Evaluation of literary elements: Bright, colorful, real photographs were used throughout the essay. There were a lot of words on the page, but these did add to the depth of the description the author was able to go into. So I can see that being both a pro and a con. This book is filled with factual information that is useful for anyone seeking a description on Crow Fair.

Consideration of instructional application: I could give the children a choice of nonfiction topic for a research project. I could also have a culture week, where each day of the week showcased a different culture. The children would participate in activities related to the specific people of that culture. This book could serve as a mentor nonfiction text to teach mini lessons on this type of book and its elements.

[Kallie Larson]

Powwow is a introduction book of things that make a powwow, a powwow. The book shows many pictures of the different things that people who go to powwows do. Along with those pictures, it talks about the different dress, activities, dances, drums, and music that goes on during powwows and why they happen at powwows. This book was very informative about different Native American cultures. I would use this book in my classroom if the school I taught at was near a reservation or had a high population of Native Americans students within the district, but I would definitely use this book when we talk about different cultures and different celebrations.

[Adrienne]

Ancona's photographs illustrate a contemporary Native American gathering, the Powwow. The book is an interesting portrait of how Native peoples today balance their traditions with the modern world. It helps kids understand some Native customs and above all, makes Native Americans into real people.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading Rainbow book: Gift of the Sacred Dog
Play by play made for a long book (kinda too long for us) but still, lots of interesting details. When reading about how they honor the animals that they kill, Bea said, "I double double really admire how native americans are like that."

[Cws]

AI 394.26

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10/2007

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has beautiful photos of the Crow Fair Powwow. It also teaches about the different dancers that are seen at Powwows and some traditions. It's a nice book.