The Indigenous Studies Student Union is in the process of planning for the first official Pow Wow to be held at UofT. The event is being planned for March 11th. Chairperson for the Pow Wow committee, Jennifer Sylvester is acquiring help from past chairman of the committee for the past SkyDome Pow Wows, and founder of First River Committee, Amos Kee Junior. Kee Junior expressed “it is very important that we ensure this happens.”
Surrounding schools such as Ryerson, George Brown, and York each host a Pow Wow annually. When asked about the possible existence of a Pow Wow on campus, UofT students expressed interest. Indigenous Studies student, Cole Currie, says “It’s important when Indigenous student groups on campus like the ISSA or NSA organize to claim space and demonstrate their importance in the broader UofT community.”
Planning of the event is still in process, but the considered venues are the Goldring Sports Centre and Sports Gym. The Goldring Sports Centre is the ideal location for the event, as it has space for vendors and seats around 150 people. Future complications with this venue include the possibility of the Varsity Blues making championships, which would remove the event’s reservations from the center.
The last event closest to a Pow Wow on campus was a social for the First Nations House 20th Anniversary. The event brought in nearly 200 people, including officials from the government. The First Nations House can generate a lot of promotional material and opportunities.
Sylvester stated that she wants the Pow Wow to be a learning experience, which introduces Indigenous communities to the university. Currie also explained, “times are changing here on campus and people are becoming a lot more welcoming of the role these different types of groups have in the community.”
The Pow Wow is planned to be traditional, focusing on the social atmosphere where people come to watch and dance, like a festival. A competitive Pow Wow would require judges and have monetary prizes for dancers. The decision to have it as traditional is for the educational experience it can offer the community, which a competitive nature would lack.
[pullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The Pow Wow is planned to be traditional, focusing on the social atmosphere where people come to watch and dance[/pullquote]
The formation of the committee is also essential to help build bridges to other organizations and communities in the city. Hoping to gain advice from coordinators of Pow Wows from other schools and support from students, the Pow Wow committee wishes to provide an exceptional Pow Wow that teaches the community about the “wide range of Indigenous culture at the university, so that we are all equally represented,” says Sylvester.
The committee meets every Wednesday, 2-4 PM in the Turtle Lounge of the North Borden Building. Those who are interested in helping plan are welcome to attend meetings.
