Neepawa’s Indigenous Culture Day Highlights Local Indigenous Creative Expression

Neepawa’s third annual Indigenous Culture Day featured dance, drumming and drum making, beadwork, and textile arts in a day-long celebration of local Indigenous traditions and artistry.

Host Darren Mousseau of Ebb and Flow First Nation was first gifted with tobacco by local representative Deputy Mayor Murray Parrot, then started out the morning with a pow-wow demonstration with dancers from several different First Nations and traditions. In his introduction, he mentioned that Neepawa was the only community in the area where they had been invited to come and put on this type of event and that he’d like to see it go even further.

“I know all you’ve heard the “Truth and Reconciliation” term thrown around,” said Mousseau to the audience of largely youth from the local middle school. “And you see, how can Truth and Reconciliation go just one sided? It has to be both ways. One of these days I’d like to come and learn about your ethnic backgrounds, how you celebrate, how you have fun.” In fact, he even put the challenge out to local arts director Heidi Nugent, who helped coordinate the event, to consider that for the future.

Following the dancing and drumming demonstration, there were stations set up where students could get hands-on experience with several arts and crafts including beadwork, bannock making, and drumming. NACTV volunteers were able to speak with many of the participants from across the region about their creations and their experiences.

Most of the outfits worn during the dancers were handmade either by the dancers themselves or by family members, and often included pieces that were gifted or traded with others, such as beadwork and the omnipresent eagle feathers. Each outfit is individual and reflects not only the role and type of dance, such as the fancy shawls or the jingle dresses, but also the tastes of the wearer. Harlan Chartrand, a young grass dancer, said he started dancing as a small child in just a t-shirt with some decoration on it and has added pieces as he’s grown up in the tradition.

Two of the stations the students visited were for beading and ribbon skirt making, and both exemplified the modern take on a traditional craft. While materials can often be sourced from pow-wow vendors and community members, others can be picked up at Fabricland or even Dollarama. A ribbon shirt can be as simple as purchasing a shirt and sewing ribbons on it, as long as the intent behind it is right.

Bannock maker Merle Roulette says she learned to make bannock as a child from her grandmother, and while it is often now made in an oven or a cast iron skillet, she demonstrated how to mix the dough and cook the bread over an open fire. Everyone who attended was given a sample, so with several hundred attendees Merle wasn’t the only one busy making a lot of bannock to share.

Perhaps the busiest station was the drum group, who talked not just about how they learned to drum and sing but also how to construct the drum. The skin on the drum they had at the event was made from elk but they said it could be made from any of the large animals including bison, deer, and even steers. The drum group even talked about how a lot of their music wasn’t necessarily sacred and how they were hoping to get their music out on Spotify for people to listen to.

The event was also briefly visited by Premier Heather Stefanson as she was passing through the area in the final week before the Manitoba Provincial Election. She spoke with several participants and guests from the middle school before moving on to her next stop.