Kenzie

     Today I went to my first pow wow. It was amazing! There was a Grand Entrance which was incredible with all the dancers, royalty and dignitaries coming forward. There were different age range competitions like Tiny Tots but what I especially enjoyed was an initiation for a beautiful little seven year old girl named Kenzie. Her family travelled two days to come here from Saskatchewan for this express purpose. She was initiated into her dancing life with a ceremony that acknowledged the support of her aunties and her family in the past but which also recognized their ongoing support in the years to come. It was an awesome ceremony which incorporated drumming, song, dancing and prayer. Four blankets were laid out in a circle with four different elders standing near them. As Kenzie danced over them, the blankets were quickly swept up and put around the shoulders of the elder standing closest. Her dance celebrated her life and the lives of her people.  And as her father noted, it also celebrated the fact that she will never be part of the residential school system like he was. It was a joyous, humbling, unique experience that I will not forget.