Concordia hosts first Pow Wow

Concordia University is hosting its first Pow Wow Friday – 11 a.m. to 4 p.m – on its NDG, Loyola Campus. Turning it into a place of celebrating, dancing, singing and feasting.

September 16 marks the 30th anniversary of the Otsenhákta Student Centre (OSC). The OSC was launched in 1992 as an important on-campus resource for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students.

Open to all nations, the university says they hope the Pow Wow helps the community discover how Indigenous cultures celebrate and helps create new relationships.

“The Indigenous Directions Action Plan is looking at ways of bringing Indigenous life to Concordia, so a Pow Wow makes sense,” said Katsistohkwí:io Jacco, the OSC’s interim coordinator.

“Every powwow is unique based on the location who was organizing it. But I mean, basically what it is, is a gathering of nations among indigenous nations throughout Turtle Island.”

Adding it’s also an opportunity to celebrate the success of past, current and future First Nations, Inuit and Métis students at Concordia.

“It’s important for students, staff and faculty to know that Indigenous people have been a part of Concordia since the founding of the university. The Pow Wow is a chance for the wider community to celebrate the many different cultures and Indigenous nations that are present at Concordia,” Jacco said.

#WATCH: Montreal’s Concordia University is hosting a pow wow at its loyola campus to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the otsenhákta student centre.#READ: https://t.co/1XgBHorwnu pic.twitter.com/tTOWynrMwY

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) September 16, 2022

“I’ve just gotten really positive feedback. I’ve had students who are really interested. They wanted to bring their friends and their families as well, just to check out what indigenous culture,” said Morning Star Fayard, student worker with OSC.

“How this power can help us in our society is just really give them a sense of community. So we have to remember that our students come from very far away. My computer, like including mine, is 10 hours away by car. So it’s a very it’s very far from their home and my home included. And so this just helps to give them a sense of community and belonging and that they know that because they leave home doesn’t mean that they’re forgotten or that they have to forget or leave behind everything,” Fayard added.

The Pow Wow is a celebration of Indigenous culture that originated in the 19th century. Through the years, it has been adapted to suit the needs and the cultures of various Indigenous people.

“A Pow Wow can be a rather private, community celebration but it can also be an international gathering of nations. For many decades, Pow Wows were forbidden by the Indian Act, to suppress our cultures and discourage large Indigenous gatherings,” explained Manon Tremblay, senior director of Concordia’s Indigenous Directions.

“It is only in the 1950s, when Indigenous people started to petition government authorities for more cultural and religious freedoms, that Pow Wows started to be held again. Today, Pow Wows are held all over Canada and the United States, and they are, in many ways, a symbol of cultural resilience. What better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Otsenhákta Student Centre than by organizing one,” she added.