Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

Modern Native American Intertribal Contest Powwows share many similarities with American sporting events. Up to 15,000 spectators attend large intertribal powwow competitions held in basketball arenas. As many as 3,000 contestants representing over 700 tribal groups including dancers, singers and drum groups compete for cash prizes. Winners are determined by well-respected, carefully selected judges. Dancers engage in prayer, ritualistic activity, pounding knuckles and issuance of high 5’s, as do athletes before and after competition. Following the judging of each dance, competitors form lines and congratulate one another as do collegiate basketball players in the spirit of sportsmanship. Singers, dancers and drummers travel the Powwow Circuit as a means of generating income for their families as do participants in the professional rodeo circuit. Intertribal contest powwows typically begin with a grand entry, flag song, prayer, and honoring of veterans, not unlike the pre-game activities observed at collegiate and professional sporting events. Powwow vendors hawk souvenirs, concessions and crafts, as do vendors at sporting events. Larger intertribal contest powwows are sponsored, in part, by corporations and branches of state and local governments much like economically important sporting events. Intertribal contest powwows serve to share and reproduce traditional Native American cultural values and traditions through the involvement of Native American youths just as involvement in sports such as baseball, football and basketball is reputed to reproduce mainstream American values. Local and small intertribal powwows do not include competitive events, but also serve to celebrate Native American culture and traditions.