It was just about time to get back on the road. The trailer required a slew of repairs, not all of which I’ve had to finish while we’ve been at home. Besides replacing the tires and installing a new jack, I had to fix a couple of electrical problems, and replace a leaky propane line. For bonus points, I made a couple of small improvements to the mini fridge and stove as well.<\/p>\n
That work, plus the obligatory cleaning of car, trailer, laundry and gear took us up until last Friday the 15th. Then we were off to pow-wow at Cape Croker. Pow-wow was one of our goals all summer. Whatever else we got up to, we had to be home in time for the party. Baby Girl wanted, nay needed<\/em>, to dance.<\/p>\n I will try to explain pow-wow a bit, for those that have never been to one. First, it’s a celebration of native culture and traditions. We dress up in our own regalia and dance to our own music because we like it and it makes us proud. It’s our thing. Second, it’s a sort of competition for the really good dancers and musicians. Third, it’s a tourist attraction that brings money and people from off-reserve. Historically, a pow-wow was a sort of party cum meeting between different tribes, to exchange news and foster goodwill. Gifts were exchanged, with all sides trying to give the most extravagant presents.<\/p>\n At the centre of pow-wow are the drums. A ‘drum’ in native parlance is both the drum itself and also a band of drummers. The drummers sit in a circle around their drum to play\u00a0and sing. At any pow-wow there will be a number of drums that sit under a tent or arbor set up in the middle of the dancing ground to give them shade. They need it because they play all day in turns.<\/p>\n Around the drum arbour is a large circle for dancing. The dancers move clockwise (generally) around the circle. Around the dancers is an outer circle of bleachers and space for spectators and participants to sit between songs.<\/p>\n Importantly, somewhere on the pow-wow grounds there will be a ceremonial fire. The fire is tended by the fire-keepers, 24 hours a day, as long as the pow-wow is on. The fire is not extinguished until the pow-wow is over. Any guest at the pow-wow is welcome to sit at the fire at any time. Our protocol is enter the fire circle (sometimes another arbor, or a tipi) and offer a bit of tobacco or other medicine to the fire. As the medicine burns, our prayers are carried up with the smoke. Remember to always move around the fire clockwise, and if someone is sitting close to the fire, to never pass between them and the fire.<\/p>\n Lastly, at modern pow-wows, there are vendors selling food, art, crafts, regalia, and materials for crafting. So, in that way, it’s like any other small town fair.<\/p>\n Pow-wow is centred around the music. The announcer calls on each drum to play a song, and tells the crowd what sort of dance it will be. Most of the time it’s an ‘inter-tribal’ song, meaning anyone that wants to can enter the circle and dance. Some people dance their hearts out, while others just \u00a0walk around the circle. Kids run and jump out something in between.<\/p>\n At competition pow-wows, the announcer will also call for competitive dancers to perform specific sorts of dances, like a jingle-dress dance, or men’s fancy dance. Judges will pick out the most accomplished for a cash award at the end of the song. Dancers\u00a0will travel long distances to compete at pow-wows with large purses.<\/p>\n Our pow-wow is more friendly than competitive. While there are some awards for ‘pro’ dance categories, there seem to be more fun cash prizes like spot dances. In a spot dance, the arena director picks a spot on the circle. Everybody dances with the music, then freezes in place when the music stops. Whoever is closest to the spot picked by the judge wins the prize. It reminds me of musical chairs. I’m reasonably certain that it wasn’t a pre-contact activity, but it’s fun anyway.<\/p>\n Mama, the kids, and I arrived just in time on Friday night to enjoy the spectacle of a long fireworks show. I don’t think I’ve ever been there on opening night, as it were, so I can’t say if the fireworks are typical, but it was fun. Those Johnston Kids were settled into their bags by the time\u00a0Alison joined us in the campground, having driven up late from Toronto. We were all tired, so nobody stayed up late.<\/p>\n The next day was hot and dry. The grand entrance at pow-wow wasn’t until noon, so after breakfast we grabbed our swim suits and headed down to the beach for a swim. When we were there a month and a half ago the water was chilly and all but unbearable. Now, after a warm summer, the water in the shallow bay was still brisk, but refreshing rather than numbing. We had a quick dip, then gathered our things and ran for the pow-wow. Grand Entrance!<\/p>\n The Grand Entrance is a sort of parade of dignitaries that begins the celebration each day. Ours was led by a trio of elders and veterans, but in the next rank of the parade were\u00a0representatives of the police, RCMP, and military. Following them were flags of the community, province and country, then more elders, and finally the dancers in regalia. I ground my teeth a bit watching the parade because I vehemently disagree with giving the various paramilitary organizations a position of privilege near the head of the parade. Of course we should honour our elders and veterans. They went through a lot and we understand and appreciate that.\u00a0We\u00a0respect and honour our elders for their individual achievements and sacrifices, however. We should not in any way be honouring the\u00a0enforcement arms of Canadian government policy. We demean ourselves when we ask our own people to walk behind them. It’s as if we’re thanking them for the generations of abuse they committed and abetted. On the other hand, I think it would be rude to invite them to participate and then make them walk last, so the solution is to not invite them at all.<\/p>\n I understand that one of the primary purposes of pow-wow is to make and keep peace, but I think we are being far too noble in deference to people who have not shown any nobility at all.<\/p>\n I grumbled, but we had fun anyway, once that nonsense was over with. Despite the heat, we browsed, and snacked, and danced. Those Johnston Kids are still finding their feet, but it was great to see them unfetter themselves to whirl about the circle. That is exactly the way to start. They will learn more steps as time passes, and hear more of the rhythms of the music. Baby Girl had an ethereal, skipping, spinning style. She was the whirlwind. Short Pants asked for a rabbit skin, which he gripped and shook as he hopped mostly one-footed around the arena. He was the hare.<\/p>\n After a couple of hours we took a break to go visit my mother, sister, and nieces. The kids call my mother Nokomis, which is Ojibwa for grandmother. I am proud of her because she still speaks Ojibwa and Cree, although I don’t really know much myself. I will learn more in the next few years. I’m in study mode. I don’t recall ever hearing my own grandmother speak a word of Ojibwa, even though she must have known it as well. To be honest, there wasn’t much Indian left on the surface of her. I think she left a lot of it in the residential school she attended as a child. That trickles down to me and my own children because that was an important source of cultural teaching that was lost. This is the sort of generational damage that is referred to when assessing the harm done by the residential school system.<\/p>\n One of the most popular summer activities at Cape is swimming off the government dock. When I was a boy, the large L-shaped dock was all one solid piece of concrete. Fishing boats docked on the protected inner side, or were\u00a0pulled up on the shores nearby. Vehicles would drive right onto the dock to take away the unloaded catch. From a perch on the side of the dock, you could always see many large fish swimming in the clear water beneath the boats, and crayfish as large as your hand scuttling across the bottom. There were always numberless leopard frogs croaking among the rocks, so that a walk along the shore\u00a0was preceded by a startled wave of amphibians jumping into the water. The Bay seemed more alive then.<\/p>\n Now, the big fish aren’t seen anywhere near the shore, and the fishing boats are all but gone as well. Crayfish are harder to spot and are finger-sized at best. I saw one frog all weekend. There are gobys in abundance though. A goby is a small fish with a gargoyle mouth and round fins, that usually sits on the bottom motionless until disturbed. They’re hard to spot at first, but once you do, you see them everywhere. It’s an invasive species, and a troublesome one because it’s a voracious bottom feeder, eating the eggs and fry of native species.<\/p>\n On the surface, the water looks amazing, green and crystalline. We joined the small crowd of people already throwing themselves into it from the end of the dock. The dock is falling apart now, with half of it fenced off to prevent people from falling into the massive holes in the concrete. We picked our way over the broken remains to the deep end. Short Pants and I didn’t hesitate on the edge as most do. With a nod to the wind, we cast ourselves into the air and took the 2 metre plunge into the beautiful cool water. Mama and Alison followed shortly after. Baby Girl was still fussing about on the edge by the time we had made it back up, so I talked her into jumping with a small push to the back. I think I communicate well with my hands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was just about time to get back on the road. The trailer required a slew of repairs, not all of which I’ve had to finish while we’ve been at home. Besides replacing the tires and installing a new jack, I had to fix a couple of electrical problems, and replace a leaky propane line. … Continue reading Gotta Dance, gotta dance, gotta dance!<\/span>