Dakota Brant leading a powwow at Veterans' Memorial Park (Photo courtesy Teagan Rasche)

By Teagan Rasche

'It represents our people'

Community honours National Indigenous Peoples Day

Jun 21, 2021 | 4:43 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Singing, dancing and prayers could be heard across Riverside Veterans’ Memorial Park today as many gathered to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Most of the activities were dedicated to the 215 children found in Kamloops, B.C. with a moment of silence and round dance.

In the morning, Dakota Brant, a Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River in Ontario, started the day with a powwow.

“Well it represents our people, represents also the people that have gone to the spirit world and also to put awareness out there to the missing Indigenous women, children and men,” Brant said.

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The powwow included singing and dancing, as well as special guests. Once Brant started drumming, eagles started to soar.

“When they hear the heartbeat of Mother Earth, that’s that drum, they seem to follow,” Brant said.

Brant says eagles have appeared at every powwow he’s been at for the past 56 years.

As he played and danced, Niomi St Paul danced alongside. She says this day is meaningful for her because she has a cousin who’s missing.

“It’s very important to me because we still can’t find her,” St Paul said. “It’s kinda emotional, I might cry, but this is my favorite thing to do. I just love dancing and to represent my people.”

A barbecue was held at noon and in the afternoon, Brant led a round dance that everyone was welcomed to join.

“Usually it’s a dance honouring women or if somebody passed away in a family,” Brant said. “All the people get together and each person has a spirit. The more spirits that are in the circle, the stronger that circle becomes.”

Brant says prayers, voices and thoughts get out to the spirit world and come back in a positive way.

He said that National Indigenous Peoples Day means even more this year as people are now starting to see the true facts of what really happened to Indigenous peoples.

“It’s about time that the communities, not just the people of the communities, the governments and the officials get off their rear end and really seriously look into where all these women and children and men are going,” Brant said.