FSIN celebrates anniversary at annual powwow

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The sounds of drummers and singers rang throughout the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon from Oct. 27 to 29 as more than 20,000 participants enjoyed the 2006 edition of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Powwow.

The powwow, the last of the season and one of the largest in Canada, included a celebration of the FSIN's 60th anniversary and celebration the Year of the First Nations Child.

Dorothy Myo, co-chair of the event, was very pleased with the weekend and said everyone who attends is a participant. "You are a part of the powwow, whether you're a spectator, a dancer or a singer. Everyone is a part of it."

There were four grand entries over the weekend, with 530 registered dancers and numerous dignitaries taking part.

As always, a number of veterans took part in the event. Included among them this year was William Greenwalt, a former sergeant with the United States Marine Corp. He has been giving back to the culture by attending powwows in Canada and the United States for about 12 years. "It's a good way for me to get energy back too," he said. "When I give, I get."

One of the dancers, Glen Pelletier, said it feels awesome to be part of the annual powwow. "It's the second time I've been here," he said. "It was taken away from us as part of the residential school legacy, but we're bringing it back, and I want to be a part of bringing it back. For me, I was carried away with addictions, thinking that was my way of life and I know that is not my way of life anymore. This is."

To honour the Year of the First Nations Child, young athletes from the Saskatoon Tribal Council took part in the first grand entry on Friday night. "Other specials honouring youth included highlighting different dance categories for them," Myo said.

Special events were also held to mark the FSIN's anniversary, she said.

"We worked hard to acknowledge our previous leadership. We have had 11 chiefs of the FSIN since its early beginnings." Each was honoured in a special ceremony on Saturday night. For those chiefs who had passed on, a memorial was also held to celebrate their contributions.

A new addition to this year's event was a cultural awareness symposium, held at the Saskatoon Inn the day before the powwow began.

"Corporate sponsors, youth, and others were invited to come in and learn about who we are as First Nations," Myo said. "It gave us a chance to talk about our history and about some of the major developments that we see, from a First Nations perspective. We had good feedback from the corporate sponsors that were there, that they really got a lot out of it. One of the things we also did was produce a handbook and try to incorporate as much information about the FSIN as we could. Corporate sponsors and generally the Saskatchewan community needs to learn how to do business with us, because we are a growing population and we're going to be significant players in the Saskatchewan scene in the next few decades."

As for next year, Myo feels good about the prospects. "We've been planning this for the last five months and we're feeling really good about the way the event has unfolded," she said.

"The Creator willing, we'll have an even bigger and better event next year."