With her hair swept back in braids and wearing regalia for the first time, 14-year-old Belle Kootenay nervously followed the others onto the dance floor for the grand entry. She had never danced in a powwow, let alone competed in one, yet she, along with six classmates, were at one of Canada’s largest powwows – Spirit of Our Nation, held in Saskatchewan. “It was intimidating but it was really fun,” Kootenay said. Morley Community School, part of the Stoney Nakoda First Nation’s education authority, rolled out Powwow Academy – a new class this year for students in Grades 10 to 12 to learn traditional dances, beading and sewing. “Some of these girls, they never danced before and we want to get them going in that direction,” said Heather Ketchemonia, the teacher who helped launch the program. “They’re the ones who signed up and, as a teacher, I wanted to find some of the ways we could incorporate powwow as much as possible. I thought, why not go to one of the biggest powwows in Canada, which is the one in Saskatoon.” For weeks leading up to the trip, beginning in September, the girls learned dance styles of their choice – jingle or fancy. “We did a bit of fundraising and the school was totally supportive and we packed up the girls and headed out by Friday morning,” Ketchemonia said, who learned to dance just two years ago. “Being their first time dancing they are on the dance floor with girls that are well-experienced, girls that have been dancing since they were like three years old. I could see why (Belle) said she would feel intimidated.” Kootenay said she stuck to what she learned and didn’t worry about her audience. “For other people, I know that they actually pay attention to other people and who is watching them but for me, I just kind of had fun dancing and didn’t really pay attention to what others thought about what I was doing.” Tiesha Hunter, 15, said she calmed her nerves by remembering what the powwow meant to her. “To have this opportunity to go out of the province and go dance for my own reserve is really eye-opening because a lot of people don’t know a lot about powwows ... I felt really appreciative,” Hunter said. “It was pretty scary once you got there knowing you’re competing. But once you get on the floor you just kind of dance and you pray for your family and yourself and you dance because it’s a way to heal from what happened to our people.” By the end of the year, Ketchemonia hopes each of the students will complete their own regalia and ultimately continue going to powwows after high school. “A lot of families that don’t participate in powwows – to travel around the states, all across Canada can be costly. The regalia is very expensive,” Ketchemonia said. “I want them, during classroom time, to create their own regalia, to learn how to bead, to learn how to sew, so they can make their own outfit so they can go out there on their own. And when they have families they can be a powwow family themselves.” Five girls travelled to Saskatoon last weekend – Summer Chiniquay, J’naya Hunter, Tiesha Hunter, Isabelle Kootenay and Maimi Simeon.
