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Hundreds came together for a celebration of Anishinaabe culture and resilience in Canada’s largest urban reserve.
People of all ages and backgrounds gathered at the Naawi-Oodena site in Winnipeg for the fifth annual Anishinaabe Days celebration over the weekend, singing and dancing to the beat of the drum.
“It’s just bringing community together,” said Dakota Eischen from Little Grand Rapids First Nation, one of the many dancers who took part in a powwow held as part of the event Sunday afternoon.
“I enjoy seeing just my people, even spectators too,” Eischen said. “It’s nice to see other people who are like, not Indigenous … enjoy the show.”
The annual event is hosted by Treaty One Nations, a group of seven First Nations in southern Manitoba who were signatories to the first numbered treaty, and who are leading the Naawi-Oodena development on the former Kapyong Barracks lands.
PHOTOS | Treaty 1 Anishinaabe Days powwow:
Drummers Sherrisse Fontaine and Cali Ice from Sagkeeng First Nation — one of the signatory nations — said it’s an opportunity to showcase their culture and songs, also passing them down to future generations.
“This drumming — it’s healing,” Ice said. “I feel like I had no voice before this.”
The two-day celebration also included a singing competition, food and an artisanal market.
But while the weekend event proceeded as planned, the celebration did hit some setbacks.
The annual event is hosted by Treaty One Nations, a group of seven First Nations in southern Manitoba who were signatories to the first numbered treaty. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC)Teepee poles vandalized in ‘hurtful’ act
On Saturday, Treaty One Nations issued a statement saying traditional teepee poles being prepared for the festivities had been damaged in what they say was an act of vandalism.
Executive director Jason Whitford said 15 poles had been chopped in half and were left lying on the ground.
“Somebody would have sought them out … and destroyed those as a willful act, I think, to try to hurt us in some way,” he said, adding that a teepee is a sacred item that serves an important ceremonial role.
Treaty One Nations said it managed to secure replacement poles to ensure a teepee was raised in time for the festivities, but added it was “deeply disappointed” by the situation.
Organizers said the poles they planned to use to raise a teepee ahead of the celebrations were destroyed in an act of vandalism, but that they would not let the incident mar the festivities. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC)
The group said acts that target cultural spaces “have no place in our communities” and that it will continue to celebrate its traditions without fear or intimidation.
“The teepee is the symbol of our traditional home,” Whitford said. “It was very, very hurtful to us, … but we’re getting past it.”
Darin Fisher, who was taken from his family as part of the Sixties Scoop, said the celebration takes another level of importance given what happened.
“We’re resilient people. We get knocked down. We’re put through things,” he said, adding that the way to respond to incidents like this is still “showing up.”
“You can do or say things about what we do, but to us, it’s a part of us — and we’re still going to do it,” he said.
Dancers and drummers at the powwow said it’s an opportunity to share their culture — and help pass down traditions to future generations. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC)