First Nations University of Canada marks 50 years with annual spring powwow

For Bonnie Rockthunder, chair of the powwow, the meaning is simple and powerful.

“The powwow is just a celebration,” she explained. “We just come to just celebrate. Celebrate our culture, celebrate our traditions, celebrate who we are as indigenous people.”

That invitation extends far beyond the circle. She has watched the gathering draw people from far and wide.

“Over the past years, I’ve noticed we’ve been having a lot more US visitors,” she noted. “Some travel from quite far. We invite everybody to come. We get dancers and singers from all over. So for me, that’s what I look forward to.”

This year’s powwow carries added meaning, marking the beginning of a milestone year for the First Nations University of Canada.

Phoenix, three, dances in the middle of a powwow in a ribbon skirt. (Image Credit: Sheila Acoose/Submitted)

“This is our 50th anniversary,” Rockthunder said. “So the powwow is going to be the kickoff to all the other year long events that are going to be happening.”

At its core, the powwow is an invitation to experience and celebrate Indigenous culture. All that’s required is respect and a willingness to learn.

That willingness is something Melinda Good Will understands deeply. Now 67, her powwow journey is one of rediscovery, healing and commitment.

“I started back to dancing in 2001,” she said. “I danced, I guess, as a kid and teenager and all… But I really got into the dancing in 2001.”

Her return came during a time of grief. “I had lost my mother a few years back, and the jingle dress dancing was known (as) a healing dance to help through grief and different things. I thought, ‘I may as well get out there too and see, see if this how this works.’ So I tried it, and I really loved it.”

For Good Will, dancing is more than just movement. It is knowledge.

“Well, when you want to dance something, you want to know the protocols to it,” she explained. “You want to… I wouldn’t say, do it right. But yet, there is certain ways of doing things.”

That understanding shaped her path. She researched the origins of jingle dress dancing, speaking with Elders and experienced dancers.

Her connection to this powwow is also personal. As a former student of the institution, then known as the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College, she once watched from the sidelines.

“I used to think, ‘Oh, someday I’m going to be able to to dance at this’ … And I thought, ‘When I retire, I’m going to be able to just join all these pow wows and dance.’ And that’s what it has come to.”

For Good Will, the powwow is about connection as much as it is about culture.

“I just hope we all have a good weekend and enjoy ourselves, and it’s good to see all family, friends, make new friends,” she said. “It’ll be really a good weekend coming.”

The sense of knowledge being carried forward is perhaps most visible in the youngest dancers.

This year, three-year-old Phoenix Gould will step into the arena for the first time.

Sheila Acoose’s granddaughter, Phoenix, is three years old and will dance in the tiny tots show. (Image Credit: Sheila Acoose/Submitted)

“She’s gonna be entering into the tiny tots,” said her grandmother, Sheila Acoose.

Acoose already has hopes and dreams for the young dancer, but said she’s letting Phoenix lead the way.

“I do have a jingle dress for her, but it’s too big,” she said. “And so eventually, if she continues, then we will try her as a jingle dress dancer. And if she doesn’t like that, well, then we’ll try fancy until we find her niche.”

For Acoose, this moment is about more than dance. It’s about identity, pride and passing something meaningful on.

“I used to dance powwow when I was young, which is why I want to try and get her interested in, show her my culture… I just want to introduce that to her and to try and teach her.”

There is emotion in that teaching.

“It means lots to me that I can start giving like or teaching her my culture. I’m just so proud that she wants to learn that.”

For those who have never attended, the invitation is clear. Come with curiosity. Come with respect. Come ready to listen, to learn and maybe, even if just for a moment, to step into the circle.

Because somewhere between the drumbeats, the regalia, the laughter of children and the steady rhythm of dancers’ feet, something shifts and attendees begin to understand that this is more than just another event.

It’s a celebration.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick

by Brittany Caffet

First Nations University of Canada marks 50 years with annual spring powwow

What's Trending