Duct tape also good for pow-wow regalia!

By Maurice Switzer

NORTH BAY— Duct tape is a popular fix-it tool for everyone from plumbers to astronauts.

But organizers of the Maamwi Kindaaswin Pow-Wow have managed to find yet another use for the familiar silvery adhesive – the creation of First Nations dance regalia.

Jennifer Seguin, a member of the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre planning team, says the June 8-9 event in Lee Park will include a Duct Tape Family Special.

“We started it at last year’s pow-wow and it was such a hit that we’re including it again,” says Seguin.

Seguin also outlines the rules: dancers must use only duct tape provided by pow-wow organizers and must return empty rolls; all family members must be part of the regalia creation, and dance with the designated duct-tape dancer at the time the event is judged.

This year’s pow-wow — Maamwi Kindaaswin is translated from Anishinaabemowin into English as “All the teachings”— is the 10th annual event staged by the city friendship centre. This year’s theme is “Dancing with our ancestors.”

“We want to encourage everyone in the North Bay area to come out and join us,” says friendship centre president Katherine Sarazin, “ to chat with their Indigenous neighbours, to learn about our cultures, to dance with us.  Everyone is welcome … and it’s free!”

Some 3,000 people attended last year’s pow-wow, which starts with a Grand Entry of dancers at noon on both Saturday and Sunday. A highlight of this year’s program will be the participation of hoop dancer Theland Kicknosway, a Potawatomi-Cree youth from Walpole Island who has raised awareness about the children of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women through 130 km runs in the Ottawa region where he makes his home.

Host drum for this year’s event are High Ridge Singers from Moose Factory, with another seven drum groups expected to support a program that includes wearers of the usual traditional, grass, jingle, and fancy regalia, as well as less-traditional potato, long-hair, and spot dances. Everyone – including spectators – is welcome to join the dancers in intertribal songs, no regalia necessary.

Indigenous art and crafts will be for sale, as will a variety of pow-wow foods like bannock, fry bread, and strawberry drinks and the ever-popular— but not so traditional— ‘Indian tacos’.

Sunrise ceremonies will greet each day at 4:45 a.m.

For more information, contact Jennifer Seguin at (705) 472-2811, Ext. 222.