The 20th annual spring powwow on Walpole Island is right around the corner.
Press Altiman, one of the organizers, said the event will run on May 16 and 17 on the First Nation reserve.
“It’s a good time to come over and share our native culture as well as catch our nice dancing, singing, drumming. There is a lot of arts and crafts here and a lot of traditional native foods,” he said.
The festivities kick off at 1 p.m. both days.
“One of the best times to be here is to experience that grand entry,” Altiman said. “You will see all of our head dancers, you will see a lot of veterans from past wars are here. All the beautiful traditional dancers, fancy dancers, jingle dancers, grass dancers and even our children, down to the smallest tiny tots are in this grand entry.”
Altiman added: “From what I hear from a lot of people that have never experienced these Pow Wows they really enjoy them. They’re open minded and they say its a really wonderful time.”
The event is something the community of Walpole Island looks forward to each year.
“It’s a time to come together to celebrate the return of spring. The return of the Thunderbirds. The thunderstorms, the cleansing of Mother Earth, the new life, the new trees, the new flowers, birds returning home,” Altiman said.
The powwow group is also teaming up with the Walpole Island Health Centre as well.
“They are going to be doing a special for cancer survivors, cancer fighters and people who may have lost people to cancer. Our head junior male dancer is going to be doing a special dance for Autism as well.”
Altiman said another positive about the event is that it’s free for the public to enjoy.
“It’s a nice time to come out and experience this, that’s why its free. We do a lot of fundraising ourselves and a lot of local businesses, Walpole Island and off the Reserve like Wallaceburg, Sarnia, Chatham all participate with making donations to the Powwow.”
Traditional native food at the event is another highlight.
“You are going to experience fresh fish, probably venison, maybe buffalo, corn soup is one of the big items here, fry bread, and they also have indian tacos. Plenty to look around and experience at the various stands that sell the food here.”
Altiman added: “It’s just a good time to come over and celebrate and share the experience with us, Walpole Island and the surrounding communities.”
For more information, join their event page on Facebook.
– Gemma Peters Photo
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