Onion Lake Powwow 2000 another success

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One of the most important cultural events and competitions on the Canadian powwow trail took place July 17 to 20, as the Onion Lake International Powwow once again welcomed visitors from all over the world.

The new Onion Lake chief, Henry Lewis, and the first lady of Onion Lake, Arlene Lewis, welcomed all the guests and artists, noting that the annual celebration of song, dance, music and ceremony comes full circle every year only after a lot of hard work and planning by the Onion Lake powwow committee, the arena director and staff.

?Saskatchewan is the powwow capital of Canada,? said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde, guest speaker at the opening of the powwow.

Bellegarde, who gave his best regards and warmest wishes to all the Elders, veterans, visitors, dancers, drummers, singers and officials, congratulated the powwow committee on a job well done. He commented on the splendid turnout and urged his Native brothers and sisters to take strength from their culture and ?to stay on the red road, the sweetgrass road, the good road.?

The prayers of the Elders must have been very strong this year. With gale force winds, three days of rain, hail, wind and tornado activity shutting down highways to the north and west of the reserve, being in the powwow grounds was like being in the eye of a storm. But an insignificant smattering of rain Sunday afternoon was all that touched the huge parachute over the arbor, even though dark clouds threatened in every direction.

Nothing stopped the sound of the drums, the sacred ceremonies or the good cheer and determination that everything would go on as planned.

The turnout at the traditional handgames tent was very strong this year, with the almost hypnotic sound of drumming, singing and playing going on from early evening until 4 a.m. each day.

There were many very impressive displays of regalia, but one of the most dramatic was the Dog Hat and warpaint worn by Jason Daniels.

Dog Hats originally belonged to Cheyenne Warrior Societies members, explained grass dancer Patrick Sutton.

?They were warriors who were very well respected by the US cavalry, respected and feared by everybody. Dog soldiers were warriors with fierce reputations. The very sight of them could strike so much fear into the enemy, they could turn the course of a battle by just showing up,? he said.

Members of the Dog Warrior Societies used to wear long red sashes and on the bottom of that sash was a split. They could use the stick, that was part of their insignia, and pin themselves to the ground. That meant that they would fight to the finish, staked down like a dog. It was a last resort, when things were going really bad for their side. No retreat was allowed after they pegged themselves down. Someone else from another warrior society could come up in the heat of the battle, unpin you and beat you back. Otherwise, it was to the death.

The original Dog soldier hats were made with magpie feathers and the tail of a wild turkey, the white tips made of tiny plumes from the breast of an eagle.

The Cheyenne are from the south central plains. The rights to different songs, dances, societies and regalia, wre traded and bought among tribes. The Mandan had the Dog Hat and the Cree traded with the Mandan. The Mandan built villages and were agricultural. Their villages were big trading centres for people from the Plains to come and trade buffalo hides and meat in trade for corn, squash and woven goods.

In 1816, Elders recall, a group of Cree warriors went down with 475 horses ? 150 trained for buffalo hunting, 150 trained for war and the rest were pack animals laden with trade goods. They went into one of the Mandan lodges for a week, going through the transfer ceremonies, bought the rights to the Dog warrior society and the Dog Hat.

During the 1880 rebellion with Fine Day and his warriors, they changed their name from Dog Soldiers Society to the Ratter Society. Fine Day and his men were in a fight with some Blackfeet and Peigan. They were surrounded and trapped on a small hill where they dug themselves in for days. They got thirsty and dry in the hot sun and Fine Day tried to sneak out at night. He prayed for help and help came in the form of a rattlesnake who told him, ?I will show you the way out of here if you will honor me and pay respect to me every year from now on.?

?The rattlesnake showed Fine Day how to get out of there without getting caught. He came back and showed his men how to get out of there and in honor of the animal who had saved them, renamed themselves the Rattler Society, who, of course, played such a heroic part in the rebellion,? said Sutton.

One of those original Dog Hats from the rebellion was transferred on down to the Tootoosis family and is currently being worn by dancer Alex Tootoosis.

?Dog Hats worn by dancers on the powwow circuit, are made of different kinds of feathers ? hawk, owl and eagle. But the most sacred are those made of feathers from the crow, magpie and raven, who feed on the bodies of the dead warriors fallen in battle,? said traditional dancer Norman Moyah Cardinal.