Ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day on June 21, an area First Nations community is announcing its cultural events for the summer including the opening of a culture lodge on Wednesday.
Miyawatama Culture Inc. and the Poundmaker Museum are opening a culture lodge on the Poundmaker First Nation on Indigenous People’s Day from 10 a.m.
Curator at the museum and director of Miyawatama Culture Floyd Favel says that the museum also acts as a culture centre with people doing beading and dancing in the evenings.
He says the culture lodge will be used for art and cultural presentations.
“It’s modelled after a Hidatsa Earth lodge – that’s a tribe from North Dakota who lived in Earth lodges along the river. It’s 42 feet across. It’s circular. It’s a unique structure in that there is no structure of its kind here in Canada.”
Favel adds the roof is 16 feet high.
On Wednesday coinciding with Indigenous Peoples’ Day the culture lodge will host opening ceremony activities including poetry readings and spoken word along with teachings on the meaning of Solstice, says Favel. He adds the changing of the four seasons holds great significance in Cree culture.
“There are four sacred times of the year within Cree culture. One is the spring equinox – March 21. And then, the summer equinox which is June 21. These are times to celebrate new life – new beginnings and the full energy of life and earth.”
Also, in July they will host local along with national and international artists and build up to a festival from July 18-21, which will include a Plains Indian Sign Language workshop.
“We are an Indigenous festival, but we also have a multicultural feast, in that, everybody is welcome to perform and attend our festival. We look at Indigenous performance as an artistic genre and not one limited by Colonial identities.”
Cultural teachings and lectures will also take place every afternoon, says Favel.
The lineup of performers includes Maori dancer Charles Koroneho, Innu poet Natasha Kanape Fontaine from Montreal, Polish Bengali dancer Sabina Sweta Sen and also the singer Iskwe as a special guest.
The Poundmaker Museum is a partner and also venue for some of the summer activities. The museum led efforts in 2019 for the exoneration of Chief Poundmaker.