Webfestschrift & Online Reflections

Dr. Pete Gregory and some of his former students (in his 65th year of teaching anthropology at NSU) at the joint meeting of the Louisiana Archaeological Society and the Caddo Conference, March 2026. Courtesy of Jay Gray.

Powwows: An Introduction for Social Workers by Jana Batman

This paper introduces the reader to powwows from a non-Indigenous perspective. It interweaves “thick description” from participant-observation at nine powwows from six locations in Louisiana, Texas, New England, and Ontario from 2018-2023. The paper offers preliminary analysis of unifying features and distinguishing variations of the powwows as well as concludes by offering a typology of powwows. The purpose of the paper is to offer an introduction to powwows for non-Natives, especially for those engaged in applied social work. Keywords: Powwow, Tradition, Culture, Indigenous, American Indian Studies, Intertribal