Using OBG's WOW (Word of the Week) - pow wow - to describe a meeting of powerful people might be viewed as disrespectful to Native American culture. Instead, the appropriate definition of pow-wow (or pau wau) is a gathering of North America's Native people. The word derives from the Narragansett word powwaw, meaning spiritual leader. A modern pow-wow is a specific type of event where both Native American and non-Native American people meet to dance, sing, socialize, and honor American Indian culture. There is generally a dancing competition, often with significant prize money awarded. Pow-wows vary in length from one day session of 5 to 6 hours to three days. Major pow-wows or pow-wows called for a special occasion can be up to one week long. [Source: Wikipedia] It might not be a bad idea to give it some thought before you use the word pow-wow to describe that group of folks sitting at Starbucks having a meeting and a cup of coffee.
