Rocky Boy Powwow

September 19, 2008

A young boy rides bareback on a horse in the prairie outside the Rocky Boy Powwow in Rocky Boy Agency, Montana.

Dancers young and old wait for the grand entry to start at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Singers from Lame Deer, Montana, perform at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in northern Montana, USA.

Male dancers leave the arena after competition at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Male dancers wait for judges after a dance to begin at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Competitors young and old wait for a dance to begin at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Girls wait for a dance to begin at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Skylar, 12, poses with a toy gun in a parking area at the Rocky Boy Powwow in Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation, Montana, USA.

Young dancers wait for the grand entry to start at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

Men dance at the Rocky Boy Powwow on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana.

While in Montana last month, I spent some time on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation photographing the annual powwow. The Rocky Boy powwow is a long-standing event and some of the Montana’s best dancers are from the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation; it's a huge event, too, drawing contestants and spectators from all over the US and Canada. The community, Montana’s smallest reservation, is also one of the youngest populations in the United States. The area is relatively isolated: it’s 20 miles from Havre, which hardly qualifies as a big city at just under 10,000, and nearly 100 miles to Great Falls, one of Montana’s largest cities at around 60,000. And while the reservation certainly has its problems, there’s hope. The local college seems to have recently been renovated and expanded, the tribe opened a casino which will provide some jobs and money, and the reservation’s infrastructure seems to be constantly improving.

This work will fit in with my ongoing Not Cloudy All Day series on ways of life in Montana.