Student-led pow wow brings together local community
By Rick Garrick
THUNDER BAY — St. Ignatius High School hosted a successful outdoor pow wow organized by the Indigenous Student Councils at St. Ignatius and St. Patrick High Schools on May 14 in Thunder Bay.
“It’s important to just keep the culture alive and get the youth more involved with our culture,” says Kate Moses, one of the head dancers, a St. Patrick High School student and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg citizen. “I’ve been dancing since I was two, three-years-old. It’s pretty fun, I have so many family members doing it too and you meet someone new each time you go.”
Moses says the turnout for the pow wow was “pretty good.”
“Everyone is so happy to be here and I think it’s amazing how there’s so many people just wanting to see and get to experience the pow wow,” Moses says.
Adam Hubbard, one of the head dancers, a former St. Ignatius High School student and Whitesand citizen, appreciated the opportunity to showcase his woodland dance style during a special at the pow wow.
“It’s an old style but it’s coming back,” Hubbard says. “There’s a lot of woodland dancers in the Minnesota area.”
Peyton Tyance, one of the head dancers, a St. Ignatius High School student and Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek citizen, says she was one of the students who spoke up about having the pow wow.
“I am very excited and exhilarated that we actually got this far,” Tyance says. “It started out with another [student] asking for pow wows and then I got in and then a lot more [students] started to voice they wanted a pow wow because we’ve always wanted one here.”
Ash Laframboise, Indigenous counsellor at St. Ignatius High School and Red Rock Indian Band citizen, says the students kept asking her about having a pow wow so she said, “OK, it’s lots of work but let’s got to work.”
“They worked really hard to bring this here to us today to celebrate all together and that was really important to them,” Laframboise says. “It was really important to the students that Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students come together, visit, and spend some time just being together.”
Esther Diabo, Native language teacher at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board and Whitesand citizen, says she was excited when she was asked to be an Elder at the pow wow.
“One of the students came to me and they gave me two tobacco ties,” Diabo says. “That was a good sign because we need a pow wow. I see lots of youth dancing, I hardly see any older people and I think this is where it has to start for the change to happen in our communities, it’s with these young people dancing.”
Omer Belisle, superintendent at the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board and Red Rock Indian Band citizen, says it was important to hold the pow wow for two reasons, for community and to celebrate in ceremony.
“It brings together all of our differences and shows that we can celebrate, as I mentioned, as a community,” Belisle says. “We do hold [pow wows] across the Board at various schools throughout the year, so this is probably our fourth pow wow at this time. The reaction’s been very positive, it’s something where all students are able to see ceremony in a safe place surrounded by educators, Elders, and youth.”
Long Lake #58 Councillor Narcise Kakegabon says they shared a song about the Moose Hide Campaign during the pow wow.
“It’s very important that we do that as First Nations men,” Kakegabon says. “We always have to make sure that we’re protecting our women, not only in our communities, but also on all social media and everywhere else. So it’s very important how we go forward with the initiative of protecting our women.”