Within the depths of old growth cypress swamps, miles of sugarcane fields, and bayous and rivers of the Atchafalaya Basin lays a one-thousand acre parcel of land. It is the home of the sovereign nation of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.
Less than half of the tribe’s membership lives on their reservation, but on this one weekend, the Chitimacha along with other tribal nations gathered in large numbers to celebrate the age-old tradition of Powwow. As the reservation systems began, government regulations suppressed the gatherings and Native Americans were thought to be a vanishing race.
In the late 1800’s Col. William Frederick Cody (“Buffalo Bill”) influenced the U.S. government to allow him to secure Native Americans for his Wild West show. Between 1887 and World War I over a thousand Native Americans went “Wild Westing” and were able to preserve dances and ceremonies that otherwise may have been lost.
As that pow-wow culture became popular throughout this country and Europe, Native Americans educated the general public about their history and culture. Over the years powwows soon became a source of tribal enterprise, and today is a place where families of many nations gather to sing, dance and celebrate and preserve their shared cultures.