Crowds gathered at the McEwen School of Architecture this past Saturday, to experience the culture and spectacle of Laurentian University’s Revitalization Powwow.
The powwow was facilitated by the Indigenous Student Circle (ISC), an opt-in student association at Laurentian University focused on advocating for the mind, body and spirit of Indigenous and Indigenous-minded allies. The event ran from 12-10 p.m., and featured a wide array of performances including spot dances and female jingle-dress specials, as well as opportunities for audience participation.
Saturday’s event came as a revitalization to the powwows hosted by Laurentian University in the past, the last of which was quite a few years ago, said powwow co-organizer and vice president of the ISC, Bneshiinh “little bird” Mcleod. As students themselves, the ISC felt that midterm season was the perfect opportunity to re-introduce this cultural event, as a much needed stress release during this busy time.
“In itself, our culture is community and family, so bringing together people in this sense is always nice,” said Mcleod.
Founded in 1996 but becoming more active in recent years, the ISC is oftentimes mistaken for the paid employees of Indigenous Student Affairs (ISA), said ISC president, Christine Trudeau. While the ISA is said to primarily host traditional events, the ISC focuses their attention on open, student-minded events to promote greater understanding of Indigenous culture.
“By doing this event, we were able to show that we’re very present and bring more awareness to the ISC,” said Trudeau. “[Today's powwow] shows that we can do so much more than just sit in a room with other people and talk about things.”
