LAKE HELEN – Hundreds of people from across the region made their way to Red Rock Indian Band this weekend to take part in the community’s 31st annual powwow.
The Powwow is the second largest in the region following the one held in Fort William First Nation, largely due to the community’s central location, and Chief Marcus Hardy said that it’s awesome to see so much support for his community.
“Our communities have really got a lot closer together in the last few years, especially during COVID. We had to rely on each other and bounce ideas off each other and share ideas on how to protect our people, so that really drew our communities closer,” he said.
“And I think that is a testament, just of the relationships that we have together, and we will go, people from our home will go and visit other communities for their powwows and vice versa, so, it's a good support system to have.”
Along with the many dancers, this year’s powwow also saw more vendors than it has seen before according to Powwow Coordinator, Gloria Lindstrom.
“What I usually do is I start off on the West side of the circle and I go along the outside and I see how far I can go around,” she said, referencing the placement of vendor booths. “And this year I made it all the way around the circle and then I have some that are off to the side also.”
Last year Chief Hardy made the decision to change up on tradition and had the children dancers leading the Grand Entry, where traditionally they would follow behind. He decided to continue the tradition in this new way this year citing the importance of putting children first in cultural spaces.
“It's everything, I think from now on, we'll be putting the children first,” he said. “I think it's important to acknowledge that they're our future leadership, that they’re our future in general, we need to listen to our children, and we need to pass on our teachings to them as well.”
Organizers of the powwow were also thrilled with the lifting of the region-wide fire ban as it allowed the many campers in attendance to have a fire and also allowed the community to hold its annual Aboriginal Day fireworks show this weekend, as it couldn’t be held on Indigenous Peoples Day.
