Thank you! Indeed I have never seen such a festival. Neither had I thought it would also involve young children (but that is normal, of course). How often do these happen?
Thank you Jerome. Yes, there were many children and this year, the theme for the festival actually was "Chaque Enfant Compte" "Every Child Counts". This has to do with honoring the children that had been forcibly sent to
boarding schools, the children that went missing and the children that murdered. All tragic events but this was not a tragic event, it was full of joy and normally when it starts, the elder come into the space first, but this year, it was the children. The best behaved children
I've seen a quite a while. Not that they were constrained but instead full of joy and no complaining and really proud of their heritage.
Apparently, Powwows have been going on for hundreds of years, but there were periods where they did not happen because the government was trying to turn this people into something they are not. Trying to force them into molds that would make them
the same as us. In those years, many indigenous people did not powwow for fear of being reprimanded.
In our region, powwows started about 15 years ago. On and off. A few times in the town I live, and a few times at Lac Simon, a First Nations Reserve. The one in Pikogan is on its 8th edition but there was none for 2 years because of the pandemic.
Pikogan is about 1 hour by car on the highway from where I live.
There is usually one a year in different parts of the province and in different provinces. I'm sure that is the same in the U.S. Around here they only happen during the summer months as our winters are cold.
The festival that happens here, is with bands from around here, from Ontario and some from the United States, mostly around the Great Lakes area.
The people are Anishinaabe which include Algonquin, Cree, Ojibway for the most part. Although different tribes, they are apparently related tribes.
Sorry if I'm rambling, but to give you an idea of the sounds, there are drummers that drum in big circles that represent the beating of the heart of Mother Earth. They also do what they call throat singing which is deep reverberations that you can actually feel
the vibration in your body if you are nearby.
I'm glad you found this interesting
Maggie