Playing Indian at Stanford Powwow, Year 2

In blackface, feather hair clips, playing indian, racial drag, stanford powwow by Adrienne K.8 Comments

Last year about this time, I posted about some local high school girls who decided to dress up and play Indian at Stanford’s powwow. The post caused a huge ruckus, I ended up getting “legal threats” from the girls’ parents, and a lot of people hated me for a minute. But since the internet has a memory of about 2 …

When Non-Native Participation in Powwows Goes Terribly Wrong

In costumes, harvard powwow, palo alto high school, spectator special, stanford powwow, warpaint by Adrienne K.89 Comments

Let’s set the scene: Friday afternoon, Stanford powwow–one of the largest powwow’s on the West Coast. Three Native powwow committee members and a friend are checking in on the vendor booths, making sure things are ready to go, and they come across the group pictured above. 6 non-Native girls, decked out in warpaint, feathers, fringe, and moccassins–playing Indian at its …