Conestoga College pow wow celebrates 10th year Saturday
The pow wow is a fun event but also gives dancers and drummers a sense of fulfillment, organizers say
The drumming at the pow wow at Conestoga College on Saturday may remind people of their own heartbeat, organizer Myeengun Henry says.
The pow wow is celebrating its tenth year at the college on Saturday and Henry says he's pleased with all the drumming groups and dancers that will be there, including one group from northern Quebec. Henry says when a pow wow can attract really great groups, it only enhances the experience for those attending as well as the performers.
"It's just an amazing event and I think this one, in particular, for being the tenth year, we added a little bit to it so we've got a few extra drums, a couple of dancers that like to dance, too," Henry said. "It's going to be a remarkable day."
Henry, who is the current manager of Be-Dah-Bin Gamik Aboriginal Services at Conestoga College and former chief of Chippewa of the Thames, says the audience will enjoy the spectacle of the pow wow, but what's equally important is the fulfillment the dancers and drummers get out of performing. What they take away from a satisfying performance helps them in their everyday lives, he says.
"Our children growing up in urban settings don't always get a chance to relate to their own culture. So when we have these pow wows, it's one of those times that they can meet the elders and learn how to sing these songs and to dance in our traditional ways," he said. "It's more important today than it ever has been."
Original art, traditional food
Henry, who has helped organize the pow wow for the whole 10 years, says the event has grown over time. The college built a new recreational facility a few years ago and they now fill it as well as the previous space.
Saturday's event will also include craft vendors with original artwork, traditional food booths as well as a sacred fire.
Henry says he's spent his whole life telling people the pow wow is open to everyone.
"With Indigenous knowledge, and things that are happening like in B.C. right now, you'll hear first-hand information about why Indigenous people are uprising," he said. "And then the social content, about how we've become part of the fabric and we're always in this country."
Doors open at 10 a.m. and the grand entry is at noon. The closing ceremony is at 5 p.m. The pow wow is at the Doon Campus, 299 Doon Valley Dr., in Kitchener.
