Start planning now to attend the 30th annual Plains Indian Museum Powwow in Cody

30th Annual Plains Indian Museum Powwow
High Energy, History, and Fun!

June 16 – 17, 2012

Joe Robbie Powwow Garden
Grand Entries: Saturday, Noon & 6 p.m. and Sunday, Noon

Take part in the dancing, music, and energy of the Plains Indian Museum Powwow. Dancers, drum groups, and artists gather from across the Northern Plains to celebrate the vibrant cultural traditions and histories of the people of the Plains that are still present today. Our Powwow is not a demonstration but a competitive event that brings in talented dancers and drum groups who will show you what a Powwow is all about.

A popular educational program is the Powwow Learning Tipi. Gloria Goggles, a Lakota educator from Ethete, Wyoming, invites visitors to discover the traditions of powwow. Young visitors have the opportunity to try on different types of powwow clothing. The tipi provides a relaxed atmosphere to explore different powwow dance styles and their origins.

Over forty Native artists will have booths on the Powwow grounds, along with fry bread vendors and a grill menu and beverages in the concession stand.

Curious about the history of powwows and powwow dance styles? Our website is just the beginning to your powwow experience...

Admission Prices and Schedule

Gate opens to the public at 9:30 a.m. Admission is good for one day of the event, please check the event schedule, which is a general guide and subject to change due to weather and number of participants.

·                   $7 for adults (18 and older)

·                   $3 for youths (7 – 17)

·                   Children 6 and under are free

·                   Tickets may be purchased at the gates only

·                   No senior or group discounts

·                   Press passes are available with prior arrangements

·                   BBHC Members receive $1 discount on admission price each day with a valid membership card

Visitors are welcome to bring chairs or blankets for our outdoor, grass ampitheater. Please—no pets. For travel and lodging information contact the Cody Chamber of Commerce. For questions about visiting the Buffalo Bill Historical Center contact Nancy McClure at 307.578.4102, email nancym@bbhc.org.

For Our Dancers

2012 officials and invited drums will be announed in the spring. Dancers and their families recieve a free pass to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center exhibits at dancer registration. Registration 8 a.m. – noon Saturday; late registration or for specials on stage both days. Contact: Rebecca at 307.578.4049, email rebeccaw@bbhc.org.

Dance Categories and Schedule of Events

Competitive dance categories include men's and women's traditional and fancy, women's jingle, men's grass, and men's and women's golden age. Several special are yet to be announced.

·                   Adults (18 – 54) & Golden Age

·                   Teens (13 – 17)

·                   Boys & Girls (7 – 12)

·                   Team Dancing Special

Vendor Information

The Powwow welcomes vendors who are selling arts and crafts made by enrolled members of North American Indian tribes and Nations. No food booths please. For more information on vendor spaces, e-mail Rebecca West or call 307.578.4049.

BBHC Plains Indian Museum Powwow celebrates 30th year June 18-19

From the BBHC in Cody:

The Buffalo Bill Historical Center’s longest-running public program celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this June when the Plains Indian Museum Powwow fills the Robbie Powwow Garden with drumming, competitive dance, and the vibrant cultural traditions of Northern Plains tribes. The event takes place Saturday and Sunday, June 18 and 19, with grand entries at noon and 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.

The powwow began in 1982 with just a few dancers and one group of singers who stopped to participate on their way to another powwow. It has since grown to include several hundred dancers—men, women, and children ranging in age from “tiny tots” to golden age—representing some thirty tribes from across the Plains, at least a dozen drum groups, about four thousand spectators, and more than forty arts vendors. Dancers compete for more than $30,000 in cash and other prizes.

Grand entries usher the dancers into the arena with a welcome and an opening prayer, flag and victory songs from the host drum, the posting of flags by the color guard, and a pipe invocation. Competitive dance categories include traditional, jingle dress, fancy, grass, team dancing, tiny tots, golden age, and chicken dance. Spectators are invited to watch the competition and can also visit the Powwow Learning Tipi hosted by Lakota educator Gloria Goggles to learn about powwow dances, etiquette, traditions, and songs. Powwow runs until about 9 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Tickets for the Plains Indian Museum Powwow must be purchased at the gate and are good for one day of the event only. Admission is $7 for adults 18 and older, $3 for youths 7 to 17, and free for children 6 and younger. Historical Center members receive a one dollar discount with presentation of their membership card. The Robbie Powwow Garden is an outdoor grass amphitheater with limited bleacher seating; visitors may bring their own lawn chairs or blankets. Gates open at 9:30 a.m. each day.

Interested arts vendors and dancers may contact Rebecca West at rebeccaw@bbhc.org or 307.578.4049. For general information visit www.bbhc.org or contact Nancy McClure at nancym@bbhc.org or 307.578.4102. Press passes are available through prior arrangement with McClure in the Center’s public relations office.

Committed to connecting people with the Spirit of the American West, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center weaves the varied threads of the western experience—history and myth, art and Native culture, firearms technology and Yellowstone natural history—into the rich panorama that is the American West. The Center, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily through April; on May 1, hours expand to 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. For general information, visit www.bbhc.org, or call 307.587.4771.

Photo: Men’s Fancy Dancer Corey LeClaire, Lakota/Navajo from Durango, Colorado, dances at the 2010 Plains Indian Museum Powwow. Photo by Ken Blackbird.

SEWIPA holds traditional powwow March 26 at LCCC

29th annual Plains Indian Museum Powwow set for June 19-20 in Cody

News from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody:

Vibrant Plains Indian cultural traditions—past and present—enliven the Buffalo Bill Historical Center this summer, with the 29th Annual Plains Indian Museum Powwow in June, two extraordinary special exhibitions, and the tenth anniversary of the reinstallation of the Plains Indian Museum, which reopened Powwow weekend in 2000 after a major reinterpretation.

The powwow takes place Saturday and Sunday, June 19 and 20, at the Robbie Powwow Garden on the Historical Center’s grounds, while inside the Center visitors can view "Splendid Heritage: Perspectives on American Indian Art," featuring over 140 objects of unique artistry and powerful cultural expression from the Northeastern Woodlands, Plateau, and Plains regions; and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Warriors: Photographs by Gertrude Käsebier, with original 1898 photographs of Native American performers of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.

Master of Ceremonies for the powwow is Robert “Corky” Old Horn from Crow Agency, Montana. Leo “Chico” Her Many Horses from Ethete, Wyoming, returns as Arena Director along with Head Judge Garrett Goggles, also from Ethete. The Host Drum group is the Crazy Horse Singers from Oglala, South Dakota, with additional drum groups from Wyoming and Montana. The Apsaalooke Nation Guard from Crow Agency serves as Color Guard.

The Powwow draws men, women, and children from tribes across the Northern Plains. The dancers, in handcrafted regalia, compete for more than $30,000 in cash and other prizes. Competitive dance categories include traditional, jingle dress, fancy, grass, team dancing, tiny tots, and chicken dance. Spectators are invited to watch the competition and can also learn more about powwow dances, etiquette, traditions, and songs from Lakota educator Gloria Goggles at the Powwow Learning Tipi.

Saturday specials—winner-take all contests that give the dancers the opportunity to earn additional recognition and awards—include Men’s Traditional and Women’s Fancy Shawl (sponsored by Artie Yellowhorse); specials on Sunday include Chicken Dance and Team Dancing. Outside the dance arena 44 arts vendors exhibit and sell authentic beadwork, quillwork, Indian jewelry, basketry, pottery, clothing, paintings, sculpture, and more. Food concessions offer frybread and Indian tacos as well as burgers, brats, buffalo burgers, and soft drinks.

Grand entry times are noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday, and noon on Sunday. Tickets are good for one day only and must be purchased at the gate. Admission is $7 for adults 18 and older, $3 for youths 7 to 17, and free for children 6 and younger. Historical Center members receive a one dollar discount with presentation of their membership card. The Robbie Powwow Garden is an outdoor grass amphitheater with limited bleacher seating; visitors may bring their own lawn chairs or blankets.

The Plains Indian Museum Powwow is supported in part by the Code of the West Foundation, the Silas Cathcart Memorial Fund, and by a grant from the Wyoming Arts Council, through funding from the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. Vendor spaces are full, but dancers may contact Rebecca West at http://rebeccaw@bbhc.org or 307.578.4049.

FMI: http://www.bbhc.org/ or contact Nancy McClure at http://nancym@bbhc.org or 307.578.4102. Press passes are available through prior arrangement with McClure in the Center’s public relations office.