Tipi raising is a T&R Week tradition

The six 20-foot-tall tipis are hard to miss as you drive up to the Riverbank Discovery Centre.

They were raised Monday afternoon by 100 volunteers pulling ropes and steadying the poles while bucking a strong prairie wind against a bright blue sky.

Signing up to help out has become a tradition, said Brandon City Coun. Jason Splett as he waited for instructions about where to place one of the 15 poles for his group’s tipi.

“Raising the tipis signals the start of Truth and Reconciliation Week, kind of like when they light the torch for the Olympics. That’s what this reminds me of,” said Splett (Ward 8).

“I was here last year and once the tipi is up, you get a real sense of accomplishment working together,” he said, motioning to the other volunteers in their orange shirts.

Bouncing her 13-month-old daughter was Michelle Lemay. She had just helped hold down the canvas once all the poles were in place.

“I volunteer every year, except last year because of this little one. I had my hands full,” Lemay said, smiling at her baby.

“But I just love this experience of seeing all different kinds of people here and working together. It’s what community’s all about,” she said.

“It’s good for family and good to be outside. There’s so much knowledge to be shared.”

Knowledge keeper Deborah Tacan walked the volunteers through the process of how to set up a tipi and the significance of the 13 poles on the inside as well as the last two, called the control flaps, for ventilation.

“We start with the three main poles that represent obedience, respect and humility,” Tacan said.

“Humility is about realizing our connection to everything, that we’re part of creation. Our teachings come from natural laws, that’s how our culture is built,” she said.

“We have the 13 poles like there are 13 full moons in a year, and that’s why we do full-moon ceremonies — everything is connected.”

Tacan, born in The Pas, is a ’60s Scoop survivor. When she was almost 11 years old, she and her six brothers were taken and adopted across Canada and the United States. They were never brought back together as a family when they were children, but found each other again as adults.

The ’60s Scoop is part of Canada’s colonial legacy and involved the removal of Indigenous children from their parents, families, communities and cultures.

Tacan said she shares her history and knowledge because she believes people want to learn more about Indigenous culture, stories like her own and of residential school survivors.

“I can get really emotional because when you think about why we’re together today and this week is because we want to connect with each other. We want to reconcile with ourselves, to heal and build relationships,” Tacan said.

“But the settlers carry trauma, too. So, when we heal, everyone heals — we all help each other and then we can build relationships with one another.”

The poles used for the tipis are from tamarack trees held together with hemp rope, said Justin Snyder, a member of Akicita Cante Waste, which translates as “good-hearted warriors.”

“We’re a land-based Indigenous men support group,” said Snyder.

He and fellow members provided hands-on instruction to each of the tipi-raising teams on Monday. In the past they have also set up tipis for National Indigenous Peoples Day and the Brandon School Division.

“We also have drumming and singing engagements, so anywhere from six to 10 of us will sing some Ojibwe or Dakota ceremonial songs,” Snyder said.

“Some of us good-hearted warriors will be drumming on our own around here, and we will probably sit down with a big drum.”

Each of the six tipis will be used for specific purposes during Truth and Reconciliation Week.

One is located by the Assiniboine River for the elders.

Another is to be used only by the fire keepers, who will watch over the sacred fire and make sure it never goes out. The sacred fire honours residential school survivors and those who died at the institutions.

The four other tipis are all on the main event grounds, where they are used for teaching and other purposes.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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