18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest The American Experience
Grand Entry of PowWow

Most of people view USA as modern society without too much cultural traditions. It is further than the truth. In fact, America has rich history of traditions, from Native Americans to new immigrants, every component of society brings in colorful and diversified culture traditions. The more I travel around the world, the more I felt needs to documenting culture traditions around the home. Three years ago, I started a project to record Native American tradition around Southern California, especially for its PowWow tradition. PowWow is a kind of competitive dancing form which can be traced back thousand years ago. It involves ceremony, singing and dancing. I am traveling around Southern California to track PowWow events. This photo depicts a Grand Entry that opens 2~3 days PowWow competitions.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 08.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: San Diego, California, United States of America
Copyright: © Kevin Shi