A Pow Wow spans generations
Photos: Joshua Fisher at the sunrise ceremony; The Grand Entry; Monica McKay carrying the Eagle Staff; Riley Kucheran with Eggy; Dancers wearing their regalia proudly; Cheryl Trudeau, back left, in the dancing circle. All photos by Kaytee Dalton.
On September 21, the Ryerson community came together for the first Ryerson Pow Wow since 2001.
Held in the Kerr Hall Gym and open to the public, the Pow Wow included a sunrise ceremony, a prayer by Elder Joanne Dallaire, Indigenous dancing, drumming, singing, crafts, a market, and more. It was hosted by Saagajiwe, a transdisciplinary Indigenous centre for research and creation based in the Faculty of Communication and Design.
The event commemorated the 20th anniversary of the first Ryerson Pow Wow, held in 1998 (the first such event ever held by a Toronto university). To the audience on September 21, Ryerson President Mohamed Lachemi noted that reviving the Pow Wow was one of the recommendations listed in Ryerson’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report (the community consultation report, released in January, was titled (PDF file) Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson: Building a New Foundation for Generations to Come).
The power of the Pow Wow to unite communities across space and time resonates through the gymnasium. Joshua Fisher (White Feather), a fourth-year Ryerson social work student, Bear clan from Long Lake #58 First Nation, who drummed at the event, remembered the significance of the drum in his life. “For me, the drum helped save my life as a youth,” said Fisher in an interview. “The Pow Wow is a gathering for what really matters, and that’s the drum. The drum is the heartbeat of our people. The drum is what calls us and joins us.”
Fisher heard the drum for the first time at age 14 in a healing circle at a youth group. Fisher remembers, “When I sat there in that circle and he sang that song, it was a spiritual awakening. It was a profound experience that I had never before experienced in my life. It’s like if you’ve ever been in a sauna and poured cool water over you. You get this feeling of being in the right place—that this is for you.”
Addressing the audience at the Pow Wow, Ryerson President Mohamed Lachemi stated that respecting Indigenous perspectives is key to the university’s values and academic plan. “That value is becoming embedded in our university culture. … The university community is bringing its expertise in education, research, scholarship, and community engagement to work on the opportunity of reconciliation. Every one of us—every student, every faculty member and instructor, each staff member—has a personal journey to make in their own commitment to reconciliation.”
Denise O’Neil Green (vice-president, equity and community inclusion) noted that gatherings of Indigenous Peoples, including Pow Wows, were prohibited by law in both Canada and the United States over decades under the Indigenous Act. “While Indigenous Peoples are no longer prohibited to gather, the legacy still lingers. So, for me, hosting this Pow Wow for our community is about truth and reconciliation,” she said.
“This Pow Wow is a step in realizing our campus’ commitment to ensure that our Indigenous community has the space to have ceremonies. It is an illustration of our mission of equity and community inclusion for everyone.”
RTA professor and Saagajiwe director Lila Pine invoked the name of Egerton Ryerson, the architect of Ontario public education whose ideas led to the creation of the Indian Residential School System. “As long as we carry his name and his legacy, we have a responsibility to double down our resistance to colonization,” she said.
Ryerson Provost Michael Benarroch reiterated Ryerson’s commitment to truth and reconciliation. He recognized Joanne Dallaire, Monica McKay, Lila Pine, Cyndy Baskin, Joanne DiNova, and Pamela Palmater, and said, “There has been a small group of mostly Indigenous women here at Ryerson … who have been, year after year, really carrying the weight of their communities within the university, and trying to hold the university responsible for ensuring that this is a place that is welcoming to the Indigenous community.”
Riley Kucheran (newly appointed Indigenous Advisor to Ryerson Graduate Studies, and an Ojibway communication and culture PhD student), organized the relaunched Pow Wow with fellow grad student Laura Heidenheim. Kucheran noted that the event took its theme, “Honouring our past/Reaching for our future,” from the inaugural 1998 Pow Wow. “It will take a lifetime to truly comprehend what that looks like,” he said. He expressed hope that the Ryerson Pow Wow could potentially “span generations,” and grow into a whole week of programming (exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, etc.). “We want the Pow Wow to be written in to the very DNA of Ryerson, and we invite you to be part of this process.”
Kucheran added that the goal of further Indigenous resurgence at Ryerson cannot be accomplished without more Indigenous representation at Ryerson. Addressing high-schoolers in the audience, he said, “Ryerson has been a home for me. It’s where I’ve found myself, my community, and my future. So to the young ones in the room, I say: come join me.”
Learn more about Truth and Reconciliation at Ryerson.
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Ryerson Pow Wow returns Sept. 21 to celebrate 20th anniversary