Kahnawake Pow Wow celebrates Indigenous culture in sweltering heat – Montreal | 24CA News
The annual Kahnawake Pow Wow is going down this weekend.
It’s a vibrant showcase of Indigenous tradition that invitations individuals from all walks of life to the reservation simply south of Montreal.
“It’s wonderful. To me, this is the highlight of the year,” mentioned outstanding Kahnawake neighborhood member Joe Delaronde. “We have a lot of great things, but this is number one for me, just a joyful experience.”
Dancers in full regalia give their finest performances, competing for glory and money prizes in entrance of an amazed viewers.
“The dancing and the music and the drums and the smells, they free my spirit,” mentioned attendee Kathy Forster, who mentioned she is an element Mi’kmaq. “I know this is going to sound corny, but it makes me feel one with the earth and mother nature.”
First and foremost, the Pow Wow is a celebration and a showcase of indigenous tradition. Forster introduced her non-Indigenous good friend Monique Carriere to be able to showcase her tradition to her.
“I need to be proud of who I am, and I need my friends to understand what our culture has gone through,” Forster mentioned. “The music, the movement, the colours, the sounds, it’s wonderful,” mentioned Carriere.
Delaronde known as the occasion a terrific alternative for non-native individuals to expertise what Kahnawake and the tradition are all about.
The dancers transfer to beats delivered by gifted drummers and singers from Kahnawake and properly past. One troupe got here all the best way from Arizona, which Delaronde mentioned was the farthest he might ever bear in mind a gaggle touring to attend the Pow Wow.
“It’s a way of helping keep our culture in our alive,” mentioned Celina Cada-Matasawagon, a dancer from the Zhiibaahaasing first nation on Manitoulin Island. “It’s just a way for our young people to find something to be proud of, and that’s our culture.”
Although music, dancing and meals took centre stage on day one, the scorching warmth sophisticated issues for members and attendees.
Dancing needed to be paused at sure moments as some individuals within the viewers succumbed to the warmth. Medical groups wanted to step in to deal with heat-related conditions not less than seven occasions. Organizers frequently made bulletins recommending individuals keep hydrated and search shade. One announcement referred to the scenario as a “crisis.”
“You’ve just got to take breaths. The most important thing is to be drinking water,” Cada-Matasawagon mentioned of the extreme problem of dancing in full regalia within the warmth.
The secondary star of the present is the distinctive meals gadgets on provide.
At the primary post-COVID Pow Wow final yr, the occasion had report attendance of 16,000 on the Saturday.
They’re anticipating this yr’s quantity to be very near that. The occasion continues on Sunday.
