The cartoon featured the pre-adolescent Indian boy Pow Wow, the tribe's medicine man, and an Indian girl who was a friend of Pow Wow's. The cartoons were often centered on Pow Wow's discovery of an animal, hurt or otherwise, and his attempts to protect the forest and wildlife from various threats. When Pow Wow needed help in these missions, he would seek counsel from the wise medicine man.
The Adventures of Pow Wow first aired on January 30, 1949 on WNBT-TV in New York. With episodes of 15 minutes, the cartoon was broadcast Sunday mornings until March 13, 1949.
The cartoon reappeared on the popular children's show, Captain Kangaroo, in 1956 and was syndicated by Screen Gems. It continued on Captain Kangaroo as a series of 5-minute episodes until 1958. The cartoons were then once again syndicated and appeared locally in New York and Chicago.
The cartoon began with this theme song:
Pow Wow, the Indian boy,
Loved all the animals and the woods;
Pow Wow, the Indian boy,
Loved all the animals and the woods;
Pow Wow was a friend
Of all the animals in the woods;
If there was any trouble,
He would help them if he could;
If Pow Wow couldn't help them,
He would go to the Medicine Man,
And he would tell them stories
Just how it all began,
All began, all began. . . .