Try Pow Wow dancing at West Ferris Secondary

By Kelly Anne Smith

NORTH BAY – The bells jingled on the regalia of Indigenous dancers as they moved to drumming in the West Ferris Secondary School gym during Try Pow Wow Day.

The Indigenous Youth Circle hosted a Try Day on Tuesday, April 28 for students to experience pow wow dancing. Those students along with resource teacher Rae-Ann Camirand encouraged students to try.

“At the beginning of the year, some students in our youth council said they’d like the opportunity to have more dance instruction.”

Camirand saw the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Try Day grant as an awesome opportunity for Indigenous students to have instruction on dance and Indigenous culture.

“We can then introduce parts of the school population to how pow wow and Indigenous dance as a form of fitness and active living and a form of cultural connection.”

Students attending the Try Pow Wow dancing were attentive, listening to Tasheena Sarazin start the event by introducing the hand drum and singing. Dressed in women’s traditional regalia, Tasheena offered pow wow history with a teaching on dancing styles.

“I’m Algonquin from [Algonquins of] Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and Teme-Augama Anishnabai First Nation. I’ve been a pow wow singer and dancer since I was really young. In pow wow culture, you don’t dance – walk in that circle – until you’ve learned to walk on your own. If you see the tiny tots, they are able to walk on their own.”

Niibin Nakogee explained his role in getting the circle ready.

“As a grass dancer, I’ve been taught that we are supposed to mimic grass and bless the land…As grass dancers, we are the first dancers that go and pat down the grass and make sure it’s safe for all the people to dance, safe for all the families and people who are coming out.”

The other dancers included Ouske Couchie-Bobb dancing grass style, Cree dancer Albany Benson danced women’s shawl contemporary, while Malia Mathias-Mizzi of Temagami First Nation danced old style fancy.

Working with the Near North District School Board central as Indigenous Education Lead, Amanda Mathias explains that during May, seven different learning and teaching pow wows will happen.

“Every student within the Near North District School Board will be attending a pow wow this Spring. This is like a mini-dance workshop but the larger events are coming in May….Students from feeder schools – Grades 6, 7, and 8 – come to their secondary school. The younger students are in the morning. In the afternoon, the older students, Grade 9 to 12, come and it’s an interactive, actually teaching and learning pow wow. We have them at Northern, West Ferris, Chippewa, Almaquin, The City of North Bay, and Parry Sound.”

Mathias informs that each secondary school has an Indigenous Youth Space. She says inside of that space, they have a graduation coach like a caring adult that supports Indigenous youth.

“Within that structure, there is a leadership group. The students are the ones that got this idea and asked me to be involved,” adds Mathias. “The drum that they are bringing in now is being cared for by the school. When we do the Spring pow wows, we’ll have a whole drum group, which is also comprised of local artists. Everything we do here is grassroots and very localized.”

As the students participated in a round dance, West Ferris Principal Gillian Kajganich talked about having a good workout participating in Try Pow Wow day. She says the event is community-building with students and staff seeing themselves represented in a celebratory way.

“We are needing more opportunities to encourage and foster that love of dance and learning of the history and the pieces behind it, especially the artistry. Today was really important in developing some of that skill.”

“I like the traditional dance and I do the women’s hand drumming,” exclaims Grade 9 student Hailey, who is Ojibwe and enjoys learning new dances.