Indigeneity on display in Waterloo Region this weekend

Annual powwow at Conestoga College supplemented by new event at Ken Seiling museum

Indigenous dancing, drumming and art will take centre stage in Waterloo Region this Saturday.

Doors open to Conestoga College’s 14th annual traditional powwow at the Doon campus student recreation centre at 10 a.m. followed by the grand entry at noon and closing ceremony at 5 p.m.

Anyone is welcome to enjoy the event that draws First Nations, Métis and Inuit participants from far and wide to reconnect and celebrate, said Christina Restoule, the college’s manager of Indigenous Student Services, in a press release.

“All nations and relations are welcome.”

The powwow returned last year following three years of pandemic shutdowns, attracting 5,000 visitors — its largest turnout ever.

This year’s event will feature singer Tia Wood, who is Plains Cree/ Coast Salish from Saddle Lake Cree Nation in central Alberta, now living in Los Angeles.

Along with traditional music and dancing, the family event is pitched to include crafts and artisans, guest speakers and a sacred fire.

To be a vendor or a dancer at the Conestoga powwow, you need to have a status card, said Shay Herold, who’s organizing another event taking place at the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum at the same time.

The “My Community Gathering” from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. will also include dancing, drum groups, singers, Indigenous artists and vendors, also with a grand entry of dancers at noon, according to a regional press release.

Though some people on social media have called the museum gathering a boycott of Conestoga’s powwow, Herold, who works with KW Urban Native Transitional Housing, says that isn’t the case.

Drawing on her experience, however, Herold believes the limitations of the Conestoga event are restrictive to some members of the Indigenous community.

“Some don’t have a status card because of the Sixties Scoop or choose not to have it because they don’t want to take on that part of our culture, because they don’t feel like they need a card to show they’re Indigenous,” she said, noting the museum gathering is being pulled together by a small, informal group of community volunteers.

“We took it upon ourselves to create event that’s welcome for anyone to dance and anyone to attend, including non-Indigenous people, but also Indigenous people who choose not to have their status card or can’t get their card.”

Three drum groups are scheduled to attend — two from Waterloo Region and one from Hamilton — and about 20 dancers are signed up so far along with close to 30 vendors.

There’s no cost to attend the gathering at the museum, 10 Huron Rd.

The Record couldn’t immediately reach the powwow’s media contact for comment on Thursday afternoon, however according to the event’s registration page for vendors, “Our goal is to ensure we are taking measures to safe guard these opportunities from Indigenous identity fraud,” it says.

General admission to the Conestoga powwow is $5, with free parking on site at 299 Doon Valley Dr. Students with valid ID and children under age 5 will be admitted free of charge.