Piikani Nation holds 56th Annual Celebration

Dancer at Piikani Nation Celebration
C. Davis and T. Lucas photos and video

Chris Davis and Toni Lucas, Pincher Creek Voice

Despite extremely wet and tumultuous weather, the Piikani Nation 56th Annual Celebration was held last weekend, August 2-4, at the Brocket Arbour and Rodeo Grounds.  Some events had to be rescheduled, and the rodeo tested the fortitude of its participants as they battled mud and pond-sized puddles even when it wasn't raining.

This was AFTER the rodeo grounds dried out a fair bit

The Celebration was very well attended.  Dance contests, drumming contests, rodeo, and a fairway all competed for the attention of attendees.  Organizing Committee member and Head Drum Judge Lowell Yellow Horn explained the importance of the event, starting with its significance to him personally.

"One of my Grandpa's was one of the founding members of the first Celebration powwow," he said.

Pow Wow participant
Martina Desjarlais

"Overall it's a celebration.  It's a celebration of our culture.  We've endured a lot over the last 70 years.  It's a celebration of life for our people.  We weren't expected to make it this far down the road.  It's reaffirmed that we have a strong resurgence back into society."

"About 15 years ago the residential school system shut down...that was only 15 years ago, that was knocking on this century.  That was a major obstacle for the resurgence of our culture.  Now we're slowly starting to get...we're awakened and we're slowly starting to understand the things going on around us."

"So it's a celebration," Yellow Horn reiterated.  "We're celebrating our history, our culture, the roots.  We have a story we want to share with the world and this is a part of it."

"Participants are coming from all over North America.  We've got people coming from as far away as Ontario, as far away as Arizona.  I've seen spectators come from as far away as England."

Yellow Horn expressed appreciation for the relatively new Piikani Arbour and the role it played in ensuring the event could continue despite the weather.  "This is our second year that we've actually got to use it.  We've been tweaking it and making some different adjustments, fine tuning it, but it's a beautiful facility.  As you've seen last night, we had 99 millimetres of rain and we were still able to have a celebration."

Yellow Horn was emphatic that the Pow Wow welcomes everyone to attend.  "It's not just a First Nation thing.  It's actually for the surrounding community.  It's a chance for us to share and celebrate our culture with our neighbors, and that's what we're all about, it's cross-cultural."