Indigenous cultures on display in Neepawa

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This article was published 29/09/2022 (1128 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEEPAWA — As the sun shone down from a bright blue sky, students from Neepawa’s elementary and middle schools watched in rapt attention as three dancers in traditional powwow regalia moved to the beat of a drum circle.

They gathered for the town’s second annual Indigenous Culture Day, which was much fuller than last year owing to fewer COVID-19 restrictions.

Before the day kicked off, Brian Hedley, Neepawa’s newly acclaimed mayor, acknowledged that everyone was gathered on Treaty 2 land, the land traditionally belonging to the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Assiniboine, Dakota and Dene people, and the homeland of the Métis people.

Afterward, emcee Darren Mousseau, from Ebb and Flow First Nation, 205 kilometres northeast of Brandon, introduced a drum circle and three traditional powwow dancers: Sam Jackson of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, Jay Mikey Mantuck of Waywayseecappo First Nation, and “Smokin’ Joe.”

Once the dancing ended, Mousseau shared two special messages with the students. The messages, he said, came to him in a dream from Sasquatch, a creature from Indigenous folklore he said is one of his protectors.

In the dream, Mousseau said, he was hunting for small game on his grandfather’s farm when he saw Sasquatch standing in front of a roadblock. Behind the roadblock, he could see things moving around. In the dream, unsure of what he was seeing at first, Mousseau lifted his gun. But then he saw the kind, gentle look on the creature’s face. She told him she had an important message for him about Mother Earth.

“She told me Mother is very sick … and behind that block there, she said, ‘That’s Mother’s warriors. And she’s so sick that she is going to unleash the warriors on the people, and the people are going to pay big time.’”

At first, Mousseau told the children, he did not understand the dream. But then he dreamed of Sasquatch two more times and sought an elder’s guidance on what the dreams meant.

“He said, ‘Well, you have to tell the people that you talk to, enough of this littering, enough polluting. We have to start looking after Mother Earth because if we don’t, she’s going to make us pay.’”

Mousseau encouraged the children to start recycling and to do what they can to keep Mother Earth clean.

“She gives us everything. Without her, it’s going to be a really rough road.”

The second message Mousseau said he was “called” to pass on to the children was for young men to realize that women aren’t there to cook and clean for them, but to be treated with respect and love.

“They’re not here to be used and abused. They’re here to continue our species. Without them, there is no future for us … without them, we’re not going anywhere.”

After the powwow dances and music, Grade 7 students from Neepawa Middle School (NMS) remained at the Flats for the entire school day, learning how to make bannock on an open fire and traditional beading.

Teaching the students how to bead is an important way to introduce them to Indigenous cultures, said Julianna Racette from Ebb and Flow.

For Sandy Bay First Nation’s Shania Roulette, teaching others how to bead is a way of sharing her culture.

“I want to share my knowledge with as many people as I can,” she said. “I just feel like everyone should learn and take part in our culture in a way, whether it’s beading, sewing, painting or dancing.”

Kallie Nugent, 9, said the Neepawa event taught her that every human being is important. The Minnedosa resident added that she learned a lot about how Indigenous people were treated in the past, such as in the residential school system.

“Things that happened back then weren’t right, and should never have happened,” she said.

The dancing was Grade 7 NMS student Eduardo Edubos’ favourite part of Indigenous Culture Day.

Meanwhile, Edubos’ classmate, Arabella Wilson, said she has learned a lot about the residential school system and hopes her peers will continue to seek out truth and knowledge when it comes to Indigenous people and their history.

“We should take Truth and Reconciliation Day to learn about the Indigenous peoples’ culture so we can learn more about … the people that were here first,” she said.

Another Grade 7 student, Rayne DeWit, said he was surprised by what he learned about residential schools.

“It’s horrible how they found all those unmarked graves. It’s really horrible,” he said.

Teaching elementary and middle school students about Indigenous history and truth and reconciliation is important because it sparks conversations throughout the community, said Yvonne Sissley, administrator and director of programming at ArtsForward, which organized the event.

“I think for any sort of reconciliation … we have to start with the kids and then, hopefully, we can move forward once those conversations are started.”

» mleybourne@brandonsun.com

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Funding for The Brandon Sun’s Indigenous and rural beat reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.