\\\\Help with my Senior Sem////

[Khioye_Mayi]

Hello all.

I'm working on my Senior Seminar Paper that deals with "Fan Culture". At first I was gonna do it over my favorite R&B artist Erykah Badu, but I really couldn't find anything on her (academically). Then I went Denver March and it dawned on me. Why not write about powwows and their sub-cultures? I mean, I am from Oklahoma and have grown up around them my whole life. I love them and they keep my from getting homesick. I love the people I meet and seeing old homies... it's a lifestyle for many Natives across North America.
So if yall could help me out by answer a few questions, it would really help me get more persectives into my paper. No names will be mentioned, so don't worry. And my paper won't be published or anything, it will just allow me to graduate from college!

AHO!


1. In your opinion, what is a powwow?
2. When did you start powwow'n?
3. What is your favorite aspect(s) of powwows?
4. What is your least favorite aspect(s)?
5. If you could write a powwow dictionary, what words/slangs would you include, their definitions, and why?
6. What is your favorite powwow that your try to make it to every year and why?

[Historian]

Before I answer any of your questions, I have a couple of my own, if you don't mind.

First, I'm not clear what "Fan Culture" has to do with Pow-wows.

I'm guessing that "Fan Culture" is referring to people who are art fans; or music fans; or sport fans for example.

If that's the case, are you then trying to write a paper about Pow-wow fans?

If that's your intent, then I'm a bit confused, because your questions are directed more towards Pow-wow "participants" rather than Pow-wow "fans". A Pow-wow fan being defined as more of a spectator than a participant.

If I'm incorrect with my assessment, please let me know.

Even if I'm correct, and you'd still like to stay with your set of questions, in the way they're written, I don't know if you'll get a lot of response. Especially since they seem to look for long answers.

I'd be happy to help you re-write some questions if you'd like. Let me know.

[injunboy]

im with Historian i dont quite get the fan culture part, but here it goes briefly

1. if u wanna break it down, i think of it as a social gathering between tribes

2 started as a child cause the whole fam pws. i guess they could have left me at home no sweat but glad they chose not ta.

3 a good jamming song is hard to not move to. pretty soon ur tappin ur foot and movin your bones haha everybody starts dancing away.. its really.., i dont know the english word for it, empowering, enlightening, haha umm? rejuvenating haha im gonna stop. a good song and a good dance man! luv it

4 least favorite huh? some people bring their whole spirtuality and *maybe* make more outta something. theres things i know i cant do but do be adding any crazy stuff on yer own man!

5 like a native version of ebonics? haha nah we dont need one. but if i had to name one id go with push up. i guess u could sing just one killer push up cause its the song. the lead, the vocals all way to the refrain. *L* if u do try lete me know i cause i wanna watch

6 theres alot but GON is soo much fun. it seems like u gotta have frens and for sure u have to know ur way around. thatll make the experiance so much better

[Khioye_Mayi]

Before I answer any of your questions, I have a couple of my own, if you don't mind.

First, I'm not clear what "Fan Culture" has to do with Pow-wows.

I'm guessing that "Fan Culture" is referring to people who are art fans; or music fans; or sport fans for example.

If that's the case, are you then trying to write a paper about Pow-wow fans?

If that's your intent, then I'm a bit confused, because your questions are directed more towards Pow-wow "participants" rather than Pow-wow "fans". A Pow-wow fan being defined as more of a spectator than a participant.

If I'm incorrect with my assessment, please let me know.

Even if I'm correct, and you'd still like to stay with your set of questions, in the way they're written, I don't know if you'll get a lot of response. Especially since they seem to look for long answers.

I'd be happy to help you re-write some questions if you'd like. Let me know.

Okay yeah, it is clear to me that I might have wrote this a little confusing.

To answer your question, what does fan culture have to do with powwows? Well, why not? I don't think that being a fan of something is limited to only the mass-marketed media. And I also believe that you can be a both a fan of powwows, as well as be a paticipant (vendor, dancer, drummer, etc.). Afterall, is it not your love for powwows that makes you want to participate? And if I am wrong, I would love to hear it. This all helps me write my senior paper.

And as for the questions being too long, well... I would suggest that people pick what they want to answer. No need to answer all of them for the sake of time. But thank you for your input, I definitely was wondering why no one wanted to reply. I thought it was because I'm a newcomer to this site (well not really, I've been on here for years, just never posted anything)

[injunboy]

it looks like ur posing next to george washington jk so u been around for awhile huh? theres alot of smert people around here and they can answer alot of questions for you. theres lots of ideas and tons of jokes, so u might have to 'simplify' things. or maybe not

[Joe's Dad]

I just want to know if that's the guy from the 'Dos XX' commercial next to her!!!

I'm jussss kiddin.

I'm a Laker fan and a UCLA Bruin fan. And I know 'fan' is an abbreviation of 'fanatic'.

Now I've been to a few powwows in different places. I've been a participant of a few, but I'm having a tough time associating 'fanatic' with 'powwow'.

[Joe G]

I just want to know if that's the guy from the 'Dos XX' commercial next to her!!!

I'm jussss kiddin.

I'm a Laker fan and a UCLA Bruin fan. And I know 'fan' is an abbreviation of 'fanatic'.

Now I've been to a few powwows in different places. I've been a participant of a few, but I'm having a tough time associating 'fanatic' with 'powwow'.

And we all know Laker fans are 'fanatics' But I can't see the connection between cultural events, and sports/etc. where a person can be a 'fan' of these events. Maybe certain dancers, drums, locations, etc. but not powwows as a whole.

[Khioye_Mayi]

I just want to know if that's the guy from the 'Dos XX' commercial next to her!!!

I'm jussss kiddin.

I'm a Laker fan and a UCLA Bruin fan. And I know 'fan' is an abbreviation of 'fanatic'.

Now I've been to a few powwows in different places. I've been a participant of a few, but I'm having a tough time associating 'fanatic' with 'powwow'.

Fan is short for fanatic. But in the sense that I am using the word, it is not derogatory. So, you don't think you can be a fan of a powwow in general? Dang, now I can't do my paper... jk

[Khioye_Mayi]

And we all know Laker fans are 'fanatics' But I can't see the connection between cultural events, and sports/etc. where a person can be a 'fan' of these events. Maybe certain dancers, drums, locations, etc. but not powwows as a whole.

Okay, think of it this way. People who attend arts and crafts shows are fans, one would assume. People who attend skateboarding competitions are fans, too. Hence, people who attend powwows are fans. Not fanatics, but fans. And yes you can be a fan of a particular area, such as dancing, or singing, but I'm using the word powwow as a blanket term to cover all of these things. Afterall, where else can you see the kind of American Indian mainstream following than at powwows? Think about it. What I am implying here is that powwows are very close to becoming something that can be mass-marketed. I would argue that it already has. Take this web site for instance. How many people visit it? Thousands. Therefore, powwows have fans.

[OLChemist]

Why not write about powwows and their sub-cultures? I mean, I am from Oklahoma and have grown up around them my whole life. I love them and they keep my from getting homesick. I love the people I meet and seeing old homies... it's a lifestyle for many Natives across North America.

I've noticed your posts in several forums and I'm not sure I agree with the premise. As someone who participates in both powwows and dominant culture fandoms, I don't agree that powwows and powwow participants are comparable to fan culture and fans. I think you are attempting to force a dominant culture framework onto powwow.

Henry Jerkins' metaphor of the fan as nomadic poacher in their approach to consuming "texts" that they neither create nor own is not applicable to powwows participants or spectators -- except maybe in the case of non-acculturated, non-native spectators. (Text in this context means TV program, film, music or literature produced by others to be "consumed" and ultimately interpreted by others.) Powwows are an evolution of pre-contact and pre-reservation social and religious practices. My people "own" powwow. We create it. It arises from our social needs, and reflects our cultural values. We are not interpreting it as a non-controlling entity, even when we are sitting in the arbor or the bleachers. My relationship to powwow is very different than my relationship to the texts I "poach" when I write fanfic. Those "texts" are the intellectual property of others and my actions as a fanfic writer involve projecting my own meanings on the text as presented, but powwow is part of my culture and when I make regalia, watch or dance I am creating not reinterpreting.

What I am implying here is that powwows are very close to becoming something that can be mass-marketed. I would argue that it already has. Take this web site for instance. How many people visit it? Thousands. Therefore, powwows have fans.

Even when the powwow is a large event, with a permanent and professional committee and corporate sponsorship, it is still a product of Native people. Much of the grumbling about an event you'll hear in a forum like this is assertion of traditional methods of social control. And, a forum like this is involved in participating and creating the mega-text of powwow as a pan-Indian phenomenon.

I think the power differential between owner and "poacher" is the key to fan culture as expressed in the US. That does not exist for Native people in powwow participant nations. We own the practice.

The closest thing to a fan of powwow, in my opinion, is the non-acculturated, non-Native spectator. I'm not talking about spouses or adopted family, but hobbyists and spectators. Hobbyists don't own the cultural practices they emulate and ultimately interpret. I have found hobbyists to engage in practices most like those I experienced in fandoms. They will argue over the most authentic expression of Native practice, like Trekkers discussing how Enterprise's depiction Vulcan culture fits into the original series cannon. They have seminars and powwows of their own. Some even withdraw into what they see as essentialist interpretations of Native culture and trot around in breechcloths, sleeping in tipis, and pretending they are in a world their ancestor's destroyed. But, they cannot control the expression and practice of powwow, because they do not "own" the cultural practices and have little to no influence.

[steelemagnolia63]

I have also noticed several of your posts but was unsure of what you were seeking in the way of answers. I think that fans of powwows are as was mentioned before the are the hobbists and the "powwow groupies".

Powwows are part of life for those of us who are of Native American heritage not something that we watch in awe from our comfy chairs. You won't find fans dancing in 100 + degree weather wearing 40 pounds of buckskins, beads or wool dresses.

I do not see how there is a comparison of fans and dancers, drummers and singers. I can understand where you can draw this from fans and the insane cult like following that has developed in Europe for all things Native American.

I think that you might need to consider some rephrasing of your questions and gear them more to the watchers than the participants.

[Iowa_Boy]

At least she was honest and said that she was working on a paper so people have the choice of participating in it. I'm not a "fan" of deception.

[injunboy]

i was helping a sister out when i answered her questions. so can u guys do the same? theres a connection there somewhere that she can make. seems like shes been pretty honest with things and so even though u might not agree with the big pic the questions were pretty simple

btw theres a thread called ndn men and white women on here, care to comment?

[Khioye_Mayi]

I've noticed your posts in several forums and I'm not sure I agree with the premise. As someone who participates in both powwows and dominant culture fandoms, I don't agree that powwows and powwow participants are comparable to fan culture and fans. I think you are attempting to force a dominant culture framework onto powwow.

Henry Jerkins' metaphor of the fan as nomadic poacher in their approach to consuming "texts" that they neither create nor own is not applicable to powwows participants or spectators -- except maybe in the case of non-acculturated, non-native spectators. (Text in this context means TV program, film, music or literature produced by others to be "consumed" and ultimately interpreted by others.) Powwows are an evolution of pre-contact and pre-reservation social and religious practices. My people "own" powwow. We create it. It arises from our social needs, and reflects our cultural values. We are not interpreting it as a non-controlling entity, even when we are sitting in the arbor or the bleachers. My relationship to powwow is very different than my relationship to the texts I "poach" when I write fanfic. Those "texts" are the intellectual property of others and my actions as a fanfic writer involve projecting my own means on the text as presented, but powwow is part of my culture and when I make regalia, watch or dance I am creating not reinterpreting.



Even when the powwow is a large event, with a permanent and professional committee and corporate sponsorship, it is still a product of Native people. Much of the grumbling about an event you'll hear in a forum like this is assertion of traditional methods of social control. And, a forum like this is involved in participating and creating the mega-text of powwow as a pan-Indian phenomenon.

I think the power differential between owner and "poacher" is the key to fan culture as expressed in the US. That does not exist for Native people in powwow participant nations. We own the practice.

The closest thing to a fan of powwow, in my opinion, is the non-acculturated, non-Native spectator. I'm not talking about spouses or adopted family, but hobbyists and spectators. Hobbyists don't own the cultural practices they emulate and ultimately interpret. I have found hobbyists to engage in practices most like those I experienced in fandoms. They will argue over the most authentic expression of Native practice, like Trekkers discussing how Enterprise's depiction Vulcan culture fits into the original series cannon. They have seminars and powwows of their own. Some even withdraw into what they see as essentialist interpretations of Native culture and trot around in breechcloths, sleeping in tipis, and pretending they are in a world their ancestor's destroyed. But, they cannot control the expression and practice of powwow, because they do not "own" the cultural practices and have little to no influence.

Wow. thank you very much for your brillant discussion. I agree with you that powwows cannot be related fandom in the sense that Henry Jenkins defines. My own opinions about powwows are somewhere in between. My purpose for starting all these thread is to generate new discussions and seek other opinions, instead of writing a paper backed solely from my biases. So once again, thank you for your input, and please keep it comeing.

[Khioye_Mayi]

:)