A member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe of Lame Deer, Montana, Buddy Red Bow, a quick-tempered activist, is battling greedy developers. On the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation he tries to persuade the council to vote against a strip-mining contract. Philbert Bono is a hulk of a man guided by sacred visions. He wants to find his medicine, and gather tokens from the spirits. He trades some marijuana for his "war pony" – a rusted out, beat up 1964 Buick Wildcat he names "Protector." Meanwhile, Buddy's estranged sister, Bonnie, is arrested in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Buddy is the only family member who can help her and her children, Jane and Sky Red Bow. Buddy does not own a car, but needs to get to his sister. His childhood acquaintance Philbert offers him a ride in his rundown car. In their childhood, Buddy found Philbert awkward and embarrassing, and Philbert was bullied for being fat. Buddy's attitude towards Philbert had not changed very much, but he needs a ride. They set out on their road trip, and Philbert's easygoing ways and insistence on frequent stops to pray and eat prove irritating at first to Buddy, and the men argue. But along the way, they meet with friends in other communities, attend a Pow wow at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where Buddy dances with other veterans, and visit the sacred Black Hills in South Dakota where Philbert reverently leaves a giant Hershey's chocolate bar as an offering to his ancestors. Eventually Buddy joins Philbert in praying and singing to the ancestors in a river. Gradually, the men grow to appreciate and respect one another. When they finally reach Santa Fe, they meet up with Bonnie's friend Rabbit. Philbert receives inspiration in a glimpse of a scene from an old western on TV, and breaks Bonnie out of jail. Their escape almost ends in tragedy, but with a little help they make their way back to Montana.
Powwow Highway did poorly at the box office, grossing a mere $283,747, despite mostly positive reviews. Roger Ebert called Gary Farmer's performance "...one of the most wholly convincing I’ve seen..." Booklist called the sequel novel Sweet Medicine, by David Seals, "a comic masterpiece." In Sweet Medicine, the characters complain about how they were portrayed in the film, and pass on seeing it when they have the chance.
