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Merriam-Webster now explicitly cautions that using “powwow” to mean a generic meeting is considered an offensive appropriation by many, as it strips the term of its cultural significance.

To understand why the word matters, you must follow its journey: from a Northeastern Indigenous term recorded by colonial English writers in the 1600s, to a broad label applied (often inaccurately) by outsiders, and finally to a modern intertribal tradition shaped in powerful ways by Plains histories and Indigenous resilience.

What a powwow means today (in the Indigenous-centered sense)

A powwow today is widely understood as an Indigenous gathering—often intertribal—featuring drumming, singing, dancing, visiting, honoring, and intergenerational cultural teaching.  Some powwows are primarily community homecomings; others are significant regional or national events that draw dancers and drum groups from far away and may include contest categories and prizes.  Smithsonian’s powwow History overview emphasizes that there is no single “one true powwow,” because powwows vary by community, region, and purpose—yet they remain a contemporary tradition reflecting tribal and intertribal values and lived experience. 

Elder voice—why it matters: Chief Mi’sel Joe (Miawpukek First Nation), describing his community’s powwow, frames it not as a show but as layered community life:

“It’s a spiritual gathering… an opportunity for someone to go into a sweat lodge for the first time… a chance to get involved in storytelling… [and] go to a sacred fire and lay down tobacco and make an offering for prayers of your loved ones.”

That framing—spiritual, relational, communal—counters the outsider’s habit of seeing powwows as merely entertainment.

Where the word “powwow” comes from (origin and etymology)

The English word powwow is documented in the early 1600s; the Oxford English Dictionary traces it to borrowings from Narragansett and Massachusett forms (often rendered powwaw / pauwau).  Oxford’s dictionary summary of origin links it to a meaning like “magician” and notes the literal sense “he dreams,” reflecting the term’s association with spiritual practice and divination in early colonial understandings.

Etymological sources similarly describe early English usage referring to an Indigenous spiritual specialist, followed by later expansion to a ceremony and, ultimately, a broader meeting/council sense.

How English settlers expanded—and often misused—the term

One of the most important historical points is that English speakers quickly began using “powwow” as a catch-all label.  The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage notes that settlers first misused the word to refer to meetings of Indigenous medicine people and later applied it to virtually any Indigenous gathering.  That widening use in popular culture helped detach the word from a specific cultural context, even before the modern intertribal powwow form became widespread.

This History is why some communities and language authorities now push back when the word is used casually: misusing ‘powwow’ can perpetuate stereotypes and diminish the cultural significance that communities work hard to preserve, thereby discouraging respect and understanding among outsiders.

The modern powwow form: why its roots are broader than the word’s birthplace

Here’s the nuance that gets lost in quick definitions: the word’s origin is Northeastern, but Plains-region histories and intertribal exchange strongly shape the powwow as a widely recognizable intertribal event.  Smithsonian’s History of Powwows explains that while Indigenous ceremonial gatherings long predate colonization, modern powwows derive from more recent developments, particularly in the Plains, where intertribal exchange and solidarity intensified amid land seizures and forced disruptions in the late 19th century, inspiring pride and resilience.

Indiana University’s First Nations Educational & Cultural Center likewise situates the roots of modern powwow dancing and gathering forms in historic warrior societies of the Northern and Southern Plains, which have evolved into today’s intertribal celebrations of dance, song, crafts, food, and pageantry. 

What powwows do that outsiders often miss: identity, healing, and “coming together.”

Powwows are often described as “celebrations,” but that term can feel too small; these gatherings are vital acts of cultural resilience, helping communities reconnect with language, family, protocols, and a sense of self that colonization sought to erase.

Elder voice—powwow as recovery and grounding:

Secwépemc Elder Peter Anthony, a veteran of the powwow circuit, describes powwowing as both identity and healing—particularly after experiences of residential school and disconnection:

“I kept going to powwows every weekend, and it helped to keep me sober, and it helped me to keep my life straight and narrow.”

And later, he describes what dance gives back at the deepest level:
“[Dancing] shows me who I am, shows me where I’m from….”

He also frames powwows as collective healing and forward motion:

“We’re still healing from residential schools… But if we come together in gatherings, and we come together in powwows, then we can look at it as a victory.”

These aren’t abstract statements.  They are lived explanations of why powwows persist and why they matter.

Traditional vs. contest powwows: different formats, shared heart.

Modern powwows often fall into broad categories that are easy for newcomers to understand: “traditional” gatherings and “competition/contest” events.  Britannica notes that both share recognizable order and performance styles; contest powwows include structured categories and prize money, whereas traditional powwows may emphasize participation and community over competition.  Smithsonian Magazine similarly describes the evolution toward major intertribal events and the modern “circuit,” in which dancers and drum groups travel to gatherings across regions.

Importantly, “contest” does not automatically mean “commercialized beyond meaning.” For many dancers, competition coexists with prayer, honoring, kinship, and teaching; the form has expanded, but the cultural center can remain.

A note on respectful language: why “let’s have a powwow” is increasingly discouraged

If you’re writing for publication, it’s worth stating plainly: major dictionaries now warn against using powwow as a generic term for a meeting.  Merriam-Webster characterizes that usage as an offensive appropriation and notes the same for the verb form (“to powwow”) when used outside Indigenous contexts.  Smithsonian’s educational materials likewise highlight how “powwow” has been stripped of context in casual use and why that flattening is problematic.

Powwow as community momentum: “kids brought the parents.”

One of the most striking details you hear when leaders describe powwow revival is how often youth are the spark.

Chief Mi’sel Joe describes how, in his community, young people drove the powwow’s growth by bringing elders and parents back into regalia and participation:

“The first year we started, the parents were not so much, but young people got regalia.  Then after that, it was the kids that brought their parents on side with their own regalia.”

A similar quote appears in Britannica’s transcript describing the same phenomenon:
“…after the first year, it was the kids that came out and brought their parents… [then] parents started showing up in regalia along with their children.”

In those lines, you can hear a cultural truth: powwows aren’t only about preserving the past, they’re also about creating the conditions for the next generation to carry it forward.

Powwow Etiquette for First-Time Guests

• Follow the MC/announcer.  Powwows have protocols (when to stand, when not to film, when visitors may join).
• Ask before photographing people.  Policies vary by event and by moment (especially during honoring or ceremonial elements).
• Never touch Regalia or drums without permission.  Regalia can be sacred and personal; touching without consent is disrespectful.
• Remember: you’re a guest.  Many powwows welcome visitors, but the gathering is first for the community and the dancers, singers, and families who sustain it.

Closing: what the origin story ultimately tells us

“Powwow” is a term with an Indigenous linguistic root, recorded in English since the early 1600s, and a contemporary cultural practice shaped by intertribal History, adaptation, and resilience.  The term’s journey—borrowed, stretched, sometimes misused, and increasingly reclaimed and clarified—mirrors a broader truth: Indigenous culture is not frozen in time, and powwows are not relics.  They live in gatherings in which communities continually renew their identities, kinships, and meanings.

Or, as elders and leaders put it in plain language: powwows are places of spirituality, friendship, story, and healing—where coming together can be a victory.