A member of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation is reflecting on a fun-filled weekend at the 50th Seminole Tribal Fair and Pow Wow in Hollywood, Florida.
Former chief Jason Henry, who is Anishinaabe, attended the pow wow with his wife Cynthia and daughter Banaise-kwe from February 10 to 12.
Jason Henry and Cynthia Henry at the 50th Seminole Tribal Fair and Pow Wow in Hollywood, FL (Photo courtesy of Jason Henry)
He said it was a great experience. He was thrilled to be able to share in the culture and show off clothing, and a dance and sound style unique to the Great Lakes area.
"Particularly, southwestern Ontario, and the Three Fires Confederacy," said Henry. "It was great to share the way we conduct ourselves with other people from across North America. My wife and I both dance a woodland-style of dance. We dress the way that is documented of our people dressing back pre-Confederation time with bead work, embroidery and imagery on our regalia that depicts the woodland plants and animals that are here. I wear an otter turban and we both wear feathers to represent the animals that were here. The woodland-style very much is about the way the Anishinaabe people here for millennia had perceived and interpreted the world around them. And, that's true for all of the tribes and nations. The way they dance and sing displays the way that we interpret the world around us. For the Anishinaabe of the Great Lakes, much of these dances came from our hunting societies, warrior societies and medicine societies. I'm very proud to be able to display our heritage and to live life the way our ancestors intended for us."
Henry said the event featured 11 drums from around North America, and there were also dancers from across the continent.
He said it was neat to see people from all different walks of life.
"One of the most beautiful things was seeing the vendors there from the Seminole nation displaying their own unique way of making clothing and jewellery and sharing their identity in that way. The song and dance was fabulous."
Henry said, at first, he was surprised to see them performing gator wrestling at the pow wow.
But he said the person doing the demonstration took the time to share about the Seminole tribe's history and the poverty they experienced from being displaced due to colonization.
Jason Henry dances at the 50th Seminole Tribal Fair and Pow Wow (Photo courtesy of Jason Henry)
"Eventually, the tourist industry in Florida began bringing money to them to wrestle gators," he said. "That helped them to create a sort of economy before the gaming aspect of Indigenous tribes in the states picked up and has brought them wealth and prosperity."
Henry said he and his family are no strangers to pow wows.
"We haven't known any other way than the Anishinaabe way. For my daughter, who is now 16, we're doing the best we can to make sure that we travel across North America to events like this to leave our footprints. Our teachers and our ancestors always talk to us about how important it is to leave our tracks and leave good tracks and our own moccasin prints on this earth."