Tid Bits

• Many different Aboriginal groups and tribes attend the same pow wows.
• Pow wows are held all across North America.
• Aboriginal dances include the Round Dance, Eagle Dance, Gourd Dance, and the Rain Dance
• The oldest form of women’s dance in the Buckskin Dance.
• The Jingle Dress is also referred to as a prayer dress.
• The pow wow dance season begins in the spring.
• The Potlatch ceremony that was a West Coast Aboriginal tradition was banned in 1887 through the Indian Act. It was not repealed until 1951.
• The governments goal in abolishing participation in the Potlatch ceremony was assimilation.
• The Sundance was banned in 1895 through another amendment to the Indian Act.
• In 1914, another Indian Act amendment barred Aboriginal People from participating without official consent from the Indian Agent in dances, shows. exhibitions, stampedes, and pageants.
• The dream to hold Games for the Indigenous Peoples began in the 1970s.
• In 1971, the Native Summer Games held in Enoch, Alberta drew 3,000 participants competing in 13 sports and many cultural events.
• In 1973, the Western Canada Native Winter Games were held on the Blood Reserve in Kainai, Alberta.