Powwow People (USA |  2025 |  88 min. |  Sky Hopinka)

Ferndale-born Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) illustrious career has spanned writing, filmmaking, and photography, for which he was a member of the MacArthur “Genius Grant” Class of 2022. He returned to Seattle in the summer of 2024 to organize and capture an intertribal powwow at the Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Seattle. Unfolding over the course of a single day of cultural celebration, immersive documentary invites audiences to experience the festivities along with the community. 

Soundtracked by the Black Lodge Singers and Cozad Singers drum groups with prodigiously constant patter from emcee Ruben Littlehead, we watch as vendors arrive to set up, a traditional tipi is pitched, and people from around the world arrive to celebrate and compete. Hopinka’s vérité-style camera wanders in and out of the day, sometimes at the periphery, other times in the heart of the dance competitions, whether it’s quietly taking note of essential details or preparation of speculation, blurring focus to capture a feeling of presence and immersion, or transporting us into the heart of friendly competition. From time to time, Ruben calls out Sky and his crew in the crowd, emphasizing their simultaneous documentation and participation in the event. Over an hour and a half, the effect becomes enthralling. 

As the events of the day transpire — welcoming flag ceremonies, children’s performances, donning of regalia — Hopinka intercuts narration from a collection of participants who reflect on the history, importance, and future of these events. We hear from Freddie Cozad, a singer and drummer whose recollections on the past, as well as Jamie John, a non-binary dancer describing their non-traditional journey toward acceptance and imagining the course of emerging new traditions. Other voices reflect on the changing of the guard and the handoff from generation to generation. As night falls, the film and event culminate in a stunning thirty-minute shot of a Northern Traditional dance special. Two songs at a time, dozens of competitors dance, interact, and are pared down to a field of three finalists. Eventually, one remains to claim the championship prizes, but the audience is the real winner for the privilege of having shared the company of so many talented people, the rich textures and engaging sonic environment of a powerful summer day’s gathering. 

Powwow People screens again on SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2026 at SIFF Cinema Uptown at 4:30 PM, where Seattle Film Critics Society will present the 2025 John Hartl Pacific Northwest Spotlight award. Director Sky Hopinka (Ho-Chunk Nation/Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) and Impact Producer Amber Morning Star Byars scheduled to attend.