Powwow: Native American Celebration

Introduction
by Andrew Hogarth.

On the last day of the 1995 Crow Fair in south eastern Montana I photographed five Native American dancers; Cedric Walks Over-Ice, Roy Pete, Lawrance Archie, Raymond Cree and Quincy Jackson. The images were strong and colourful and the composition showed both the power and individuality of the participants.

During the summer of 1996 I decided to follow up this style of photography. I attended six powwows, some large and some very small and intimate. My idea was to show the people of today celebrating their Native American heritage. Through portraiture I wanted to focus on the individual, the theatre and the tradition.

My previous photographic work had focussed on two main themes; Native Americans of all ages in every day attire within their local environment and documentation of the historical sites of the mid to late nineteenth century Plains Indian Wars period. Photographing Powwow presented a completely different
type of challenge.

Time spent with many different people at powwows during the summer of 1996 led to the realisation that often the heroes of today’s generation were leaders such as Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Chief Joseph, Geronimo, Dull Knife, Little Wolf and Quanah Parker, leaders whose careers I had studied with much interest. It soon became apparent that many of the qualities which made leaders of these men were evident in the young men of today. It was a starting point to capture the images of powwow.

The choice of subjects was largely guided by an element of their individual regalia and my particular interest in the symbolism and act of face painting, however there were also many other considerations. In general women were more reticent to be photographed and children often found it difficult to focus their attention for the requisite time.

I felt that to fully capture the joy and pride of spirit experienced at powwows it was important that the images be taken in a natural and dynamic environment rather than a studio. The weather was sometimes extreme, often it was relentlessly hot. As many dances require the participant to have the fitness level of an elite athlete, this combined with environmental conditions and the weight of some of the individual dress attire limit photographic opportunities.