Reason to celebrate
61ST ANNUAL POWWOW HOSTED IN BROCKET
Brocket-The Piikani Nation 61st annual Celebration Powwow came to a successful conclusion Sunday, with a cast of colourful characters on hand from both north and south of the border.
The event has changed a lot since its earliest origins, said Piikani Nation Coun. Fabian North Peigan just prior to the final Grand Entry of the Powwow on Sunday afternoon.
“When it started it was a traditional, social gathering, meaning there was no competition or contests,” he explained. “Everybody was paid to participate with more or less an appearance fee. There were traditional feasts, and nobody paid for food.
“So from that time to today — it is now very contemporary and it has evolved. It is now economically based, and money draws in the people. It is all about the contest and it is all about championship Sunday.”
But what hasn’t changed, said North Peigan, is the feeling of communal gathering and the expression of a proud and vibrant Piikani identity.
“The social aspect of this event never grows old,” he stated. “The social aspect is the integrity and heart and soul, and foundation of the gathering. It teaches young and old about the evolution of our culture, our language and granting peace and harmony between the mortal being and the spirit world. There is still a lot of connection that way which is still important to the people.”
The Celebration Powwow remains the fundamental expression of the annual summer gathering on the Piikani Nation, said North Peigan, but in recent years the events surrounding the Powwow have taken on an important life of their own.
“It’s not just the Powwow anymore,” he explained. “(The gathering) has grown to have a mega-rodeo, which is affiliated with the professional circuit events ... We have the slo-pitch tournament. We have the hand-game arbour and the princess pageant and the royalties. We also have the parade ... It’s just amazing.”