What It’s Like Going to A Pow Wow For The First Time (In Manitoba!)

You Should Always Talk to Strangers  

While on my cross-Canada motorcycle trip (lazing around at a free campsite in Russell, Manitoba), I met “Joy” and “Bear”, a couple from BC on a road trip to visit their son and granddaughter. I met Joy first, and she invited me to their trailer for tea! We all ended up having an epic, 3+ hour long conversation about EVERYTHING, and thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. It’s rare to be able to have deep, meaningful conversations with people you just met, but when you’re alone as much as I am these days, you don’t want to waste time on small talk anymore. They even made me eggs and let me try homemade pickles too! I’m so lucky I got to meet them.

 

 

Joy invited me to meet them at the “Pow wow” they were going to that Saturday (Aug 5, 2017) on the Waywayseecappo First Nation. I decided to go, as it was an amazing opportunity I would have never had otherwise. I didn’t even know what a pow wow was at first! It’s a social gathering held by many different Indigenous communities. “Pow wow” comes from the Narragansett word “powwaw” which means “spiritual leader”. Pow wows are a way of meeting together, to dance, sing, visit, renew old friendships, and make new ones. There are traditional pow wows and competitive pow wows! Pow wows celebrate and preserve the rich Indigenous heritage. Indigenous people were not allowed to speak their languages or practice their culture for a long time, so pow wows used to be held in secrecy.

 

 

The Pow Wow Experience

The Waywayseecappo First Nation was about 30 minutes away from my campsite, so I rode my motorcycle for the first time in a while with NO luggage! I felt free as a bird! When I got there, I was greeted VERY warmly which blew me away. People who just met me actually hugged me, and a few kids followed me around asking a million questions like kids always do. These 2 little girls kept saying “you’re so beautiful!” to me, which was adorable, especially because kids are actually honest and don’t say things like that with a motive. I ended up giving them both a necklace to “share”, which, surprisingly, they did. I keep giving away my jewelry to kids, I gotta stop! Lol. I let the kids sit on my motorcycle (with permission from their parents), and even gave Joy’s niece Ashley a ride!

 

 

Joy and I watched the dancers and drummers for awhile. It was incredible, and I wish I had been bolder and asked some of the dancers for pictures. But, it’s been so long since I was around that many people, so I went into shy mode. You know, there are different outfits for different dances, and there are different dances for different age groups and genders, representing different phases of life! For example, the “grass dance” represents wind in the grass. The dancing kids were absolutely adorable and the dancing regalia was INCREDIBLE! I LOVE bright colors. Joy’s beautiful niece Ashley is a “jingle dancer” and I was privileged enough to see her get ready for her dance.

 

 

I felt very welcome as Joy introduced me to her relatives and taught me lots of new things, like how the beaded earrings are made, and what the dances represented. Joy is also an AMAZING artist and art teacher, so naturally she was a good photographer as she snapped a few shots of me. At one point, we were in a teepee, and she was laying on the ground taking a picture of me and this random man walked in. Ahhh. The things photographers do to get that perfect shot! He said “oh, if you enter this teepee, you have to sing a song on stage!”. I could feel my heart stop as me and Joy looked at each other in horror. SING IN PUBLIC? NEVER! Fortunately, he was kidding, and introduced us to his friend who told me a cool story about the drum, which holds cultural and symbolic power. 

 

 

So, I have to say. The people were incredibly beautiful (drool!). I LOVE it when men have long hair. I just love long hair, which is why I haven’t hacked mine off even though it’s annoying. It just feels like it’s part of me, and losing my hair would be nearly as bad as losing a finger (though not as permanent). It’s the first time in my life I have ever met so many indigenous people. There were hardly people who were not indigenous present so I felt especially honored to have been invited, welcomed, and made to feel included. I got to eat some delicious stew, and Joy’s sister actually gave me a pair of beautiful beaded earrings as a gift! Which Joy’s aunt made!

 

 

My Own Indigenous Heritage

One of the first things I thought to myself when I first started motorcycling across Canada is “man, I’ve never seen so many white people in my life!”. Everyone I now meet on this trip is either white, or indigenous! I’m used to living in Toronto and Montreal which are both very multicultural cities, so this is new for me. I have actually noticed quite the divide between the white and indigenous people, like I did in Atlanta (between the white and African American people). I myself am half Middle Eastern, part Cherokee, and part… mutt.

My great grandmother was Cherokee and my great-grandfather was half indigenous and half Dutch. I’ve always been greatly fascinated by, and held great respect for the Indigenous cultures. I love the spiritual aspects and the emphasis on respect for nature & animals. I was also horse crazy as a teenager, and horses are valued quite a bit in indigenous culture, which fascinated me even more!

 

 

My great-grandmother comes from the “Bone” family, and when she got married, she had 2 weddings! One in a “white” dress, and one in a native dress. She had dark eyes and long, thick dark hair, and was extremely skilled at horseback riding. She rode horses bareback all the time, and did stunts like picking things off the ground while riding a horse full-speed! She was very independent, and left home at 16 to start her own business on the road selling corsets, girdles and lingerie! At that time, women couldn’t just go to stores to buy those items, so her business venture was quite successful. She was the breadwinner of her family!

 

 

Apologies in Advance

I know I’m being general in this post, as I am not very well-educated about indigenous culture. My sincerest apologies if I’ve phrased anything in an ignorant or insensitive fashion, as it is completely unintentional.

 

Has meeting random people led you to a unique experience that you would have never sought out on your own? Please share an example in the comments below!

 

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