Preston Cleveland performs the Prairie Chicken Dance.
Rady Faculty community celebrates National Indigenous Peoples Day
Wearing his regalia adorned with beads, feathers and embroidery, Preston Cleveland performed the Prairie Chicken Dance to the beat of four drummers.
He danced before an audience gathered on June 20 in the Brodie Centre atrium to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day. The event was hosted by Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing in the Rady Faculty.
Cleveland, whose traditional name is White Cloud, shared the stage with the Sons of the Drum group and dancers who performed different styles of dance, including Jingle Dress and the Woodland Strap Dress, also known as the Grandmother Dress. Cleveland said these dance styles are ancient.
“A lot of these dances are so old that there’s no date that we can recall exactly when they started, but we can tell the story of how they started,” he said.
Cleveland explained that the Prairie Chicken Dance came to a young man in a dream after he shot a sage grouse to feed his family.
“The bird told him, ‘In exchange for my life, I’m going to show you this dance and I’m going to show you the songs that go with this dance, and when you wake up, you’re going to bring it back to your people. You’re going to show them what I’ve shown you,’” Cleveland said.
The event was emceed by Debra Beach Ducharme, whose spirit name is Earth Woman, and who is the director of Indigenous health integration at Ongomiizwin – Education. She told the audience that Indigenous people come from deep roots.
“Roots that connect us to the land, to our languages and to the songs of our ancestors. From these roots we rise. Our resilience is powerful,” she said.
George Muswaggon, Knowledge Keeper with Ongomiizwin, addressed the audience and said that the Indigenous culture shared that day is just a glimpse into it.
“There’s much more to it than just that. There’s much preparation that happens. Take a look at the regalia. If you can only imagine the amount of hours it takes to prepare those. Think about that for a second,” Muswaggon said.
George Muswaggon speaks in Mashkiki Gittgaan – Medicine Garden.
The morning began with the lighting of a Sacred Fire and a Pipe Ceremony in Mashkiki Gittgaan – Medicine Garden. The space was filled with members of the Rady Faculty community.
“Taking time for ceremonies is a powerful way to ground ourselves as Indigenous people and it also teaches people about the validity of our way of life,” Beach Ducharme said.
Following the event in Brodie Centre, the audience enjoyed a feast catered by Shelly’s Indigenous Bistro. Vendors were also set up to sell their hand-made products.