Chicago, Illinois 2001
AIC Powwow, 1960
January 28, 2004
In November of 2003, the American Indian Center of Chicago hosted their 50th Chicago Powwow, an annual celebration of Native American arts and culture. In recognition of this achievement, the Spurlock Museum joins them in the presentation of the exhibit 50 Years of Powwow, organized by the American Indian Center and installed in the Museum’s Focus Gallery from January 27th through June 26th.
Created in the spirit of welcoming, sharing, and strengthening, 50 Years of Powwow conveys the vitality and power of the Powwow experience through images, video, and artifacts. All aspects of the Powwow—a vital arena for intertribal unity and the celebration and promotion of Indian pride—are represented. A large “Grandfather Drum” and the regalia of a Jingle Dress Dancer are on exhibit. The significance of the Drum and the Four Circles of Powwow is reinforced by colorful graphic images on the wall and the floor.
The Grand Entry procession and the Powwow dance circle appear in images and video showing veterans carrying Eagle Feather Staffs and flags, and traditional and fancy dancers whose eye-catching and elaborate regalia—including feathers, shawls, jingles, and flashing sequins—reflects their distinctive dance styles.
For information on the special events presented in conjunction with 50 Years of Powwow, visit the Calendar of Events.
This Focus Gallery exhibit is presented as part of an annual series of cultural events endowed by Reginald and Gladys Laubin in support of the Laubin Gallery of American Indian Cultures. Programming in conjunction with this exhibit is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.
Visit the Dickson Mounds Museum(external link), Lewistown, Illinois, for another view of the exhibit 50 Years of Powwow, including an installation of selected artifacts from the collections of the Illinois State Museum and The Elders Speak, an exhibit of photographs, paintings and stories reflecting the lives and memories of Chicago’s American Indian Elders (January 11 through April 10, 2004).
