Thousands attend North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre Pow Wow
By Kelly Anne Smith
NORTH BAY — The sound of drum songs filled the Maamwi Kindaaswin circle as dancers gathered for the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre’s 18th Annual Pow Wow on June 6 and 7, 2026.
Maamwi Kindaaswin, which means learning together, brought together dancers, singers, and families for a weekend of culture, community, and celebration.
Long Point First Nation member Maryse Pichette called the Maamwi Kindaaswin a fun weekend. Despite the rain on Saturday, she and her son joined other dancers in the circle before returning Sunday under sunny skies.
“We go around the pow wow trails; me and my son follow them. We are all together when we go,” Pichette says, adding that following the pow wow trail brings her closer to her ancestors. “I feel a connection to my grandma, who passed away, my grandpa and my family. It’s our culture that we didn’t get when I was younger because we didn’t know about it. It was held back. I am only learning about it now because my mom is only starting to open up about it because of the trauma we all went through.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige enjoyed the hospitality of the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre.
“It feels great. As most people know, my schedule is quite hectic. In one week, I went from Thunder Bay to Manitoulin, to Curve Lake, and then here today. It’s really an honour to come and bring greetings on behalf of the Anishinabek Nation. It’s important we continue to be united during these days and these times. Just as our Ancestors have been, are, and will continue to be.”
Grand Council Chief Debassige spoke about appreciating the theme of the gathering, Walking with our Ancestors; Honouring Our Old Ways.
“It was really nice to see today at this pow wow that our old ways of bringing our original flags—our Eagle Staffs—as the first sacred item that comes into the circle at the Grand Entry. Oftentimes, we see all different sorts of flags. To go back to our original ways of our Eagle staffs is really resilient.”
Grand Council Chief Debassige is inspired when connecting with relations.
“It’s just really great to be around the people. It’s really great to see a lot of allies here, coming to learn and celebrate with us. It’s a weekend of celebration and as I said in my opening comments yesterday, for the Anishinabek Nation, [it] was…Anishinaabe Giizhigad (June 6), a day we celebrate our Ancestors, our people here with us today, and those yet to come. And really promoting one Anishinaabe family. Borders were placed upon us to keep us divided, but we will continue to overcome that and become more united as we go forward in these days. It’s really great to see over the years how much closer our Nations are coming back together and ignoring those borders that were imposed on us.”
Celebrating at the Maamwi Kindaaswin fills Grand Council Chief Debassige with hope.
“It’s great to celebrate who we are. The little ones are just beautiful to watch. Our Traditional women’s dancers and our Traditional men’s dancers, our Fancy dancers, our Fancy Feather dancers —it’s just beautiful to see how many dancers are here today. It’s really uplifting to come to a celebration when we’re always surrounded by not-so-great stuff. It’s always a great reminder of who we work for as leadership and who we continue to serve. There’s a tremendous amount of hope for our future.”
Reflecting on the Maamwi Kindaaswin weekend at Lee Park, Maurice Switzer, North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre Board President, repeated the words of Anishinabek Nation Head Getzit and North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre’s Eagle Staff Carrier Richard Assinewai.
“When we enter the pow wow circle, we hold up those Eagle Staffs that are our flags. They have feathers on them. It’s our way of identifying ourselves. That’s sending a message to everybody: we’re still here. We were the first people on these lands and we’re still here and we will always be here as long as we keep our teachings and our culture,” says Switzer. “That’s what honouring our Ancestors is…Before colonization, they did a lot of things to lay the groundwork for us. And they had to endure a lot of challenges when colonization came. Those of us who are here now are lucky to benefit from all they did. We’re following in their moccasin tracks.”
Switzer was grateful there was some rain on the first day, but without the storms in the forecast.
“This is good for North Bay. We have a tourism department, and the economic department is always talking about the benefits of this sort of event. This is free. We’re not charging anybody to get in. We’re proud we can do this in the heart of our city.”
Maamwi Kindaaswin Head Elder was Joyce Shortt-Lavigne. Eagle Staff Carrier for the North Bay Indigenous Friendship Centre Richard Assinewai opened each day. Head Dancers were McKenzie Ottereyes-Eagle and Paige Restoule, while Mya Katt and Trent Beaucage were the Head Youth Dancers.
Maamwi Kindaaswin emcee was Greg Sutherland. The Host Drum was Iron Stone with Boys From The Island as Co-Host Drum, with invited drums Chippewa Travellers, Juniper Singers, and Singing Spirit Singers.