Northern Superior Region dancers hopeful for upcoming pow wow season

By Rick Garrick

NORTHERN SUPERIOR REGION — Northern Superior Region dancers have mixed hopes for the upcoming pow wow season after two years of cancelled pow wows due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m looking forward to go dancing again in the pow wow season,” says Pays Plat Councillor Raymond Goodchild, a men’s traditional dancer. “I hope to get to some pow wows so I can dance and pray while I dance, and I hope to enjoy myself and get in touch with Mother Earth and walk in harmony with Mother Earth this summer. That’s what I’m really looking forward to, to meet people and laugh with people and have fun with people and do some praying this summer at the pow wow.”

Goodchild says his community held a medicine healing lodge last fall, which was visited by a group of high school students from Lake Superior High School in Terrace Bay.

“We had some spirituality, we learned some stuff about [Indigenous] culture,” Goodchild says. “We did some medicine lodge teachings and cultural teachings with [the students]. We also had sweat lodge ceremony teachings during that time with the Lake Superior High School teacher.”

Goodchild also attended the Gathering of the People Pow Wow last August at Current River Park in Thunder Bay.

“My wife went to that one — we enjoyed that,” Goodchild says. “We were sitting there listening to the drums and listening to the songs and seeing people dance different styles of dance.”

Nicole Richmond, a jingle dress dancer and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg citizen, looks forward to dancing again on the pow wow trail this summer.

“I think we’re through the worst now and I feel the importance of seeing one another and getting together and celebrating is really going to bring us back together and help rebuild our community after being apart from each other for such a long time,” Richmond says. “People just really miss each other, they really miss being a part of something bigger, they really need to get back together with one another to celebrate the good life with our drums and with one another.”

Richmond says her community usually has a feast to start the pow wow and bless the grounds 10 days before the pow wow starts.

“We also start every day of the pow wow with a Pipe Ceremony to bless the grounds and bring people together in a good way,” Richmond says. “It’s a place for everybody no matter where you are at in your healing journey, the pow wow is open and people feel the connection with one another. They hear the drums and they feel our culture being invigorated and supported, and I think that is really important for people.”

Kristi Boucher, a jingle dress dancer and Fort William citizen, looks forward to dancing and having access to ceremony again on the pow wow trail this summer.

“I try to dance every chance I get,” Boucher says. “Not being able to have access to ceremony and the pow wows that we’ve seen before COVID-19, I’ve really realized how valued that part of my life is, and its importance for me and my children and its importance for community.”

Boucher adds that jingle dress dancers don’t just dance for themselves.

“You’re dancing for other people. Jingle dress dancers are the healers so you’re dancing for the people that can’t and the people that do need your prayers and your healing,” Boucher says. “So I miss that part and I look forward to seeing the rest of the pow wow community back the way it was. The community is very welcoming and it’s great to meet other people from other communities. Seeing people in person, you really miss that — seeing people just virtually isn’t the same. The energy of the pow wow, there’s nothing to compare that to.”

Ron Kanutski, a men’s traditional dancer and Red Rock Indian Band citizen, was not sure what was happening this year on the pow wow trail so he decided to invest his time into his other passions of live music and comedy.

“I hope to [attend a pow wow] if there’s a weekend that’s open but I’ve already committed a lot to working in the comedy field and playing live music,” Kanutski says. “So a lot of my summer’s been swallowed up already. After being dormant for two years, I had to put my work as the purpose for this summer as opposed to me taking more time to go and do social things… Life is moving forward — I’m going on tour with Science North for nine cities.”