THUNDER BAY – The annual National Indigenous Peoples Day pow wow hosted by Fort William First Nation drew well over a thousand people to Anemki Wajiw, also known as Mount McKay, on Wednesday.
The occasion was first proclaimed as National Aboriginal Day in 1996 as a day to recognize and celebrate the cultures and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Recently-elected Fort William First Nation Chief Michele Solomon said the event offers a meaningful opportunity for Indigenous peoples from across the region to embrace and connect with their culture, and to share that culture with others.
“To be among the energy, the young people who are stepping into their Indigenous identity – some for the first time – it’s beautiful,” she said.
“We welcome the opportunity to have people come here and celebrate this day with us and acknowledge the importance of it.”
Dancer Tyrell Moonias travelled from his home community of Neskantaga First Nation for the pow wow.
“The reason I came up here to Fort William First Nation was to dance, to help heal my spirit,” he said.
After growing up in a group home, he said dancing helped reconnect him with his ancestors’ cultural traditions in a way that’s been deeply impactful.
“What it brings to me is I feel like it helps me burn excess energy I have, if it’s emotions or feelings I’ve built up like sadness or anger,” he said. “If I dance, I can express it [and] let it out.”
“I just find it helps me build my confidence and makes me feel proud to be Indigenous.”
Maiya Pervais, 12, of Fort William First Nation said the annual pow wow on June 21 has been a chance for family members to pass down cultural traditions like jingle dress dancing.
Like Moonias, she called dancing in the pow wow a healing practice.
“When you’re dancing, your jingles are healing people around you, mentally and physically,” she said.
Pervais also welcomed growing interest from beyond her First Nation in the event.
“The last few years since COVID, there’s been a lot more people coming to pow wows, which is really cool, getting to see more people care about it,” she said.
Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, who is on a two-day swing through Thunder Bay, said in an interview he was thrilled to accept an invitation to join in the event on Wednesday.
“For me, today was a day that I could have been in Ottawa, but I wanted to be celebrating with community where I could be with Indigenous elders, youth, and really experience the beauty of the culture,” he said.
He called the occasion a chance for non-Indigenous Canadians to reflect on their role in redressing historic wrongs committed against Indigenous communities and building a brighter future.
“It’s a celebration, but I think it’s also important to not forget that while we celebrate, we also have to commit to acknowledging the injustice the first people of this land have faced, and to fight to remedy that injustice,” he said.
While here, Singh planned to meet with First Nations leaders including Solomon, who said she planned to raise issues including First Nations police funding and Métis self-government.
