Concordia’s 2nd annual Pow Wow is a huge success
The weather was perfect for Concordia’s second annual Pow Wow at Loyola Campus in Tiohtià:ke. The university’s Otsenhákta Student Centre hosted the event on September 15.
In Kanien’kéha, “otsenhákta” means “near the fire,” which is fitting, as the hosts were inclusive and warm and displayed honour for traditions and the people who continue to carry them forward.
Elder Leonard Bordeaux began the Pow Wow with an opening address, giving a few words of thanks in English to the stars, sun and moon, the waters that hydrate us, the grasses and land that sustain us, before continuing in Kanien’kéha. Following the prayer, Lance Delisle emceed the Pow Wow.
Dances included the Women’s Traditional and the Men’s Traditional, danced with full regalia and explanations of what some of the dances meant. The Sneak Attack dance, for example, performed by the Men’s Traditional dancers, showcased how warriors historically ducked and dove when British soldiers fired muskets at them.
Concordia’s own drum circle, Traveling Spirit, provided song and drumming, trading off with the visiting Ottawa River Singers and including a special guest appearance from one of the drummers of RedTail Spirit Singers.
“I have put together many Pow Wows and I know how much effort they take,” Elder Ray Deer pointed out. That effort was evident, from the diverse performances throughout the day to the booths displaying traditional beadwork, painting, handmade soaps and other artisanal goods and community wares.
Cheyenne Henry, manager of the Otsenhákta Student Centre, was present throughout the day. “My role here is just to support the students and be there for what they’re doing,” she said.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather, and I’m so pleased people are here,” added Savannah Matteini-Gabriel, the centre’s engagement coordinator.
Tenacity and endurance
Two-spirit Anishinabe dancer Makhena Rankin-Guérin performed the Hoop Dance. Both a storytelling and a medicinal dance, hoop dancing was once illegal in Canada under the Indian Act. Traditionally danced by men, they began to pass the dance to women so it would not be lost in the face of Canadian state repression.
Rankin-Guérin’s performance emulated the fluidity, tenacity and endurance of the Anishinabe people.
A round of Inuit throat singing was accompanied by information about the recitation of songs passed down for thousands of years. Throat singer and Concordia alumna Nina Segalowitz, BA 99, also shared that she was a survivor of the Sixties Scoop.
As well, she spoke about the march scheduled for the following Monday in Ottawa demanding the Canadian government continue to exhume the unmarked graves of children on residential school grounds.
“People always ask me what can we do for Indigenous people,” Segalowitz noted. “I say, continue to demand these graves be dug up so we can finally honour our little ones. That’s what you can do.”
Pow Wows are a celebration of people coming together from many communities, and Concordia’s second Pow Wow will certainly not be its last. When asked when the Otsenhákta Student Centre would begin planning for next year, Mariah St. Germain, coordinator of student success at the centre, said, “Tomorrow.”
Find out more about Concordia’s Otsenhákta Student Centre.