‘Indigenous’ dance at festival didn’t respect culture: sisters
Ukrainian troupe accused of showing lack of care and detail in performance
A pavilion at Saskatoon’s FolkFest is at the centre of discussions about cultural appropriation after it included Indigenous dancing in one of its performances.
A video taken at the Ukrainian pavilion shows dancers dressed in Indigenous-styled clothing performing what appear to be powwow dances alongside Ukrainian dancers wearing traditional Ukrainian clothing during one performance.
Janelle and Betty Pewapsconias made the video, posted on Facebook. They are sure the dance troupe had good intentions, but that does not excuse the “token” demonstration of Indigenous culture, Janelle said.
“To have something that was supposed to honour me — then the time and care and attention and detail to how, when, or why we come with our regalia, should have been honoured as well,” Janelle said. “It was like a clown suit, almost ... there wasn’t honour in that.”
The performers, the Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble, said in a statement on Facebook that the “Canadian Kaleidoscope” dance was “created with gratitude, love, and respect to all of the cultures that make Canada so wonderfully diverse,” and has been performed many times since 2003 as a way to honour those different cultures.
The ensemble also said cultural leaders and choreographers were invited to provide input into the many dances of the Canadian Kaleidoscope.
The Pewapsconias sisters, who identify as nehiyaw (Cree), said they were struck by the lack of a First Nations or Metis symbol on the large “multicultural” flag displayed at the event, a flag featuring the symbols of other nations forming a border around the Canadian flag.
Janelle said her jaw dropped when she saw the dancers on stage in costumes that barely resembled what would be carefully created for those dances within the Indigenous community.
“It could have been done better,” she said, adding she believes the troupe could have put more effort into reaching out to the community for feedback.
After seeing the video, Priscilla Settee, an Indigenous studies professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said this addition of Indigenous-themed dancing is “clearly not OK.”
“If they want to do something that’s respectful, then they should have some open communication with people of the community,” Settee said. “There has to be a dialogue set up.”
It’s not a matter of racism or exclusion, but a matter of understanding culture and history, Betty Pewapsconias said.
“The dance does not demand you to have brown skin. It does not demand you to be Cree, Dakota, Lakota, Nakota ... it is more of a healing dance, and it’s for your identity.”
Responses to the video have been mixed, the Pewapsconias sisters said.
Janelle said it was “daunting ” for non-First Nations people to tell her how she should feel or what should offend her, and that more education needs to happen.
Betty admitted she may have called a lot of attention to dancers in the troupe when she posted the video, but said this could be an avenue to start talking about issues of appropriation and reconciliation in Saskatoon.
“(Reconciliation) is not just talking to someone,” she said. “It’s ... trying to have that sense of understanding and trying to build something from it.”