Although the annual powwow at Northern College isn’t going to be held in person this year, it will still be a way for community members to connect with their culture, according to a powwow committee member.
The celebration is going to be held virtually in September. The date hasn't been finalized yet.
Last year, the powwow was postponed and then cancelled because of the pandemic.
This year’s event planning is still in the early stages as the Northern College Powwow Committee is figuring out how to bring the celebration in a meaningful and appropriate way, said Caitlyn Kaltwasser, a committee member and Timmins Native Friendship Centre worker.
“The powwow is a way for our people to gather and honour our own traditions. It gives our community members a sense of where we come from as well as maybe where things are heading,” she said. "Although it's not the same (this year), this is a creative way of bringing some of our traditions back to our community.”
For decades, the weekend-long celebration was held at the college’s gym at the end of the school year.
With dancers, drummers, Indigenous vendors and family members travelling from up the coast to attend, the in-person powwow brings a lot more to the table, Kaltwasser said.
“This year, it’s not going to happen but we’re finding a way and it will still be very awesome. I think we’re in need of some kind of connection to our culture and at this time, this is how we can do it,” she said.
Each year, the powwow had a theme like Honouring the Red Road or Bringing Our Children Home.
Northern College students are invited to submit their ideas for this year's powwow by May 21 for a chance to win a $50 gift card.
“We analyze different issues that are occurring in the community and we try to keep it relative to the current stuff that is going on,” Kaltwasser said explaining how this year, many young people aren’t as engaged due to the pandemic, so it was decided to put out a call for submissions to make students a part of the decision process.
Contest submissions can be sent to Armanda Sutherland at [email protected] or Caitlyn Kaltwasser at [email protected].
