Kiinawin Kawindomowin — Story Nations

The diary of a missionary on Ojibwe land

Pow Wow

Pow Wow

Team members Judith Brunton, Kaleigh McLelland, and Russell Turner dance at the Rainy River First Nations Pow Wow. Photograph by Pamela Klassen, 2015.

Du Vernet comments several times in his diary on the social significance of the pow wow for Ojibwe. He first uses the term when describing an interaction between Jeremiah Johnston and “Old Chief Great Hawk.” To convince the chief to allow for Christian prayer, Johnston suggests that where he comes from, it was the custom of the people to speak with God before having a “pow wow,” or gathering. For Jeremiah Johnston, the pow wow is a concept that he can translate into an opportunity to profess Christianity.