Generations of voices echoed through the Mamidosewin Centre’s fifth annual round dance
The Mamidosewin Centre and Algonquin Students’ Association brought a round dance to the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre on March 27 to celebrate Indigenous culture.
Round dances are a time of celebration and remembrance of those who’ve passed. The ceremony begins and ends with a smudging, which serves as both blessing and a chance to thank the Creator for the land and all it provides.
“Smudging is a form of cleansing,” said Randy Kakegamick, one of the emcees for the night.
“We ask for things, we ask for guidance, we ask for help for when we’re in mourning,” said Kakegamick. “When that smoke burns, all those questions and all those talks go into the smoke and when the smoke rises, the eagle would take those messages. The eagle is our messenger because he flies highest to the Creator and he’ll pass along those messages to him.”
Round dances aren’t just for celebrating and remembering. They are also a time of bringing the community together, reconnecting and enjoying time together.
“Round dances are extremely important to Indigenous communities. It’s where we gather, it’s where we communicate,” said Anita Tenasco, the director of Indigenous initiatives at Algonquin College. “It’s where we celebrate our cultures, our diversity, where we meet people, it’s where we reconnect with friends and colleagues.”
Dave Hookimaw was the stickman of the night. The stickman’s job is to choose which singer they want the night to start off with. The chosen singer would then walk around the circle, picking others they would like backup from.
Hookimaw, a singer himself, believes that singing is more than just a personal calling, but also a spiritual one.
“It was a spirit that came into my heart and soul. It moved me and that’s what I wanted to do ever since,” said Hookimaw.
Round dances originated as a way of honouring loved ones who have passed away by celebrating their life and helping them on the journey to the next life.
“At times the drummers would sing a song about honouring someone’s life and recalling that this person is no longer with us here on earth, but they have gone back to the Creator,” said Tenasco. “Allowing people to grieve, kind of like to heal and not to forget the person but to build strength to carry on.”
Alongside singing and dancing, vendors were also there selling Indigenous art, ranging from beadings and drawings to dreamcatchers.
“I’m such a creative person so it really fuels me. It makes me happy and specifically bead work whenever I’m beading, I feel really connected to my culture and it really grounds me,” said Jazimine Remillard, owner of Jazmine Sky Beading.
“Round dances are critical to our well-being and in an Anishinaabeg culture it’s part of mino-bimaadiziwin,” said Tenasco. “The good life, a healthy life, a balance life, a life that focuses on not only the individual but the family or collective.”
