Faces from the Land: Twenty Years of Powwow Tradition
Scores of breathtakingly beautiful photos of dancers on the powwow trail are the most obvious treasures this book offers. For two decades, the Marras have documented Indian culture at powwows, where visually sumptuous outfits, throbbing drums, and stately traditional or expressive contemporary dance steps join to create a unique evidence of Native American pride in heritage. Ben Marra’s stunning photographs reveal that shared pride but capture as well the individual personalities of the dancers: the haughty young warrior, the mischievous clown, the shy grandmother. Dancers from tribes throughout the U.S. are included, as are examples of costumes from the widely divergent powwow traditions, such as shawl dancing, jingle dancing, and fancy dancing. Linda Marra’s text, transcribed from oral histories of the dancers, adds immeasurably to the worth of the book by providing cultural and personal context for each photograph. As in their Powwow: Images along the Red Road (1996), the Marras mix ethnography and artistry superlatively well. --Patricia Monaghan