The Bear Claw Casino & Hotel's Annual Celebration at White Bear First Nations on Sept. 6 and 7 was a visual spectacle full of colour, pageantry and sound that honoured First Nations culture, tradition and spirituality: commemorating the past, celebrating the present and providing a positive future focus for First Nations people in Saskatchewan and throughout North America.
At Saturday's Grand Entry--officially opening the festivities--host Chief Brian Standingready of White Bear First Nations, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Perry Bellegarde and Chief Margaret Bear of Ochapowace Cree Nation all spoke with pride at the progress that has been made in Saskatchewan's First Nations communities as they called upon First Nations people in the province to work together towards a better future for all.
In his welcome address, Chief Standingready said he was "wearing two hats." Speaking on behalf of both the White Bear community and the Bear Claw Casino, he recounted White Bear First Nations' pioneering role in bringing the business of gaming to First Nations communities in Saskatchewan. "We have quite a history in gaming," he said. "We started with the Bear Claw and now we have six casinos and almost 2,000 employees. That's a great accomplishment and I'm very proud to be a part of it for the past 14 or 15 years. It's one of the First Nations successes in Canada."
"To our youth, I say that in order for you to succeed, you must keep away from all of the bad influences out there: like drugs and alcohol. You have a great future ahead of you. Everything we do, we do for our youth, so we can move our nation ahead."
FSIN Chief Bellegarde echoed Chief Standingready's sentiments. "We now have six going on seven casinos. That's something that's good. That's something that's powerful. That's something that will help us move ahead. We can do so much more when we work together."
He continued: "We are hanging on to our culture. That, and our education will mean a better life for us all. Let's keep our circle strong and let's enjoy the pow wow."
Chief Bear said, "For all the people who are at this wonderful event for the next few days, it is also a wonderful time to come together-to celebrate and to share our knowledge. It is also an opportunity to share our rich culture and to share our friendship with all nations."
The pow wow attracted participants from First Nations communities throughout Saskatchewan, as well as from British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, North Dakota, Minnesota and Oklahoma.
US Navy veteran Arland Tootoosis who served in Vietnam and now lives on Poundmaker First Nation near Battleford, Sask., says, "The pow wow for me is a gathering for friends and relatives; a celebration of life. Anybody can attend any pow wow. No one is restricted from coming. No one is restricted by race, religion or anything like that. Anyone who wants to come is welcome to come to pow wows."
Tootoosis says that as a war veteran, he finds attending pow wows "healing and theraputic. I especially enjoy meeting up with my fellow vets. With veterans, there are two different types: war veterans and peace-time veterans. We all have served, but with war veterans, you know what each other went through. It doesn't matter which conflict you went through. Whether it's Vietnam, or Korea, or World War Two, a war is a war. The pow wow helps with the healing."
Master of Ceremonies Hal Eagletail from TsuuT'ina First Nation near Calgary says, "It's my first time at White Bear. I go to a lot of pow wows and I'm very impressed for a lot of reasons. First Nations communities all honour their veterans, but I'm especially impressed with how highly Saskatchewan First Nations honour their veterans and that's very evident here at White Bear today."
"I'm also very impressed by White Bear's place in First Nations history with the casino. It's an honour for me to be among these good, strong warriors."
Eagletail says that the present-day pow wow came from two historical traditions: one from Canada and one from the USA. "In Canada, the Mi'kmaq Nation in the Maritimes started it and the pow wow's original meaning was a gathering of our spirits and leaders. In the U.S., in Oklahoma, all of the nations were put together and forced to assimilate. The tribes started a friendly contest where dancers were put against drummers and this was an attempt, in part, to help each tribe retain some of its own identity and history. The pow wow is also a ceremony and a healing event for all of us."
Like the people who participate in it, Eagletail says the pow wow is both traditional and technologically-advanced. "The spirits are still there, the people are still coming together and our hope and hearts are always coming together at the pow wow, but the comfort and convenience are there, too. Here at this pow wow, bar codes are used for the dancers to check in and the scoring systems are more advanced. At some pow wows, the judges use iPads. But pow wows are healing gatherings and that's never going to change."
"The sick, the veterans, and prayers for all people in all areas of the earth and prayers for Mother Earth, that's what matters at pow wows," adds Eagletail. "Whether you make the pay window, that's beside the point."
Joe Thunderchild, 65 from Onion Lake Cree Nation, Sask agrees. "I've been dancing at pow wows for 59 years," he says. "I'm a Grass Dancer, old-style. It's healing; it's spirituality. My headpiece has plumes representing creatures that fly, quills that represent four-legged creatures and my regalia has elements that represent creatures that swim and the ribbons represent all the races of man. I have things that have come from my regalia throughout my life, from when I was a little boy until now."
"The grass dance is a healing dance. I dance old-style. I stand in one spot and dance because that is what grass does. When I dance, I sway like the grass and I let the good stuff blow to me and the bad stuff blow away. You can request a prayer from a grass dancer and we'll do it for you."
Thunderchild's friend, 17-year-old Chicken Dancer, C.J. Thunderspirit from North Battleford, says the pow wow "means everything to me. Because of this, I've been drug and alcohol-free for three years."
This year's pow wow began with a stirring drum roll call before dignitaries and dancers entered the bandshell, dancing and singing. Dexter Asapace delivered the prayer to the Great Creator and the spectacular Grand Entry included Eagle Staff Carriers, six Flag Carriers, Chiefs Standingready, Bellegarde and Bear, male and female veterans, and First Nations Warriors and Princesses, as well as dancers from First Nations in Canada and the U.S.
During the ceremony, each veteran was introduced and applauded as they were told, "Without you, your efforts on the battlefield and your service, we would not have a pow wow."
Noreen Deegan of Standing Buffalo Firsat Nation near Regina didn't attend pow wows while she was growing up. "I didn't go. We started going when my daughters were small. Now I'm here to watch my grandson dance and we go to pow wows nearly every weekend in the summer. We're trying to keep them involved in our traditions and culture."
Jordan Thunderchild, 27 of Thunderchild First Nation near North Battleford says, "I've been dancing for 13 years and I've had this regalia for six years. It was made by myself, my mom and my wife. For me, pow wow is a gathering, a celebration. It's a time where people from a lot of different nations gather. It's a time for people to come together, honour the past and look toward the future in a good way."
