American Indian Culture and Research Journal

INTRODUCTION The powwow is often cited for its importance in contemporary Indian life as a constituent of tribal and Indian identity, and as a unifying force in Indian life. Although each of these testimonies may be true, each tells an incomplete story. Each downplays or ignores entirely the disagreements and conflicts that occur within the powwow grounds and that swirl around powwow practices. Each erases the multiple differences among Indians and implies that Indian identity and commitments are simply reinforced and reproduced through powwow practices, rather than debated, negotiated, and changed. Each also erases the constitutive presence of power and politics within the powwow arena. Powwows are constituents of identity and a unifying force in contemporary Indian life, but they are also arenas of conflict and disagreement in which power plays an important role and in which Indians implicitly and explicitly debate their identity and mutual commitments. In this article I will argue that the powwow can best be understood in these dual, paradoxical terms: It plays a unifying role in Indian life while providing a public arena for negotiation of differences and disagreements. The unifying role played by powwows is especially significant in light of the diversity within and among tribes. Although others have argued that the powwow plays a unifying role in this context of diversity, much can nevertheless still be added to our understanding of the specific practices that foster this unifying role. In the first part of this article, I will examine specific powwow practices in light of their unifying role. I will interpret the powwow as a communicative arena in which common experiences help create and sustain a common ground of memory, experience, identity, and commitment out of disparate experiences and identities.