Julie Druker | Sep 03, 2015


One of the reasons that the annual Silver Lake Pow Wow continues to attract participants and visitors from near and far year after year is the fact that guests are invited to take part in many of the events. The traditional non-competitive Pow Wow took place this year on August 29 & 30 and when I visited on Saturday, guests were participating in a feather pick up dance where anyone is invited to flex and stretch themselves to the limit as they try to pick up a turkey feather, with only their feet touching the ground and using only their mouth.

Located on the picturesque shores of Silver Lake near Maberly, the traditional Pow Wow event receives no funding from the government and was started over two decades ago by Marie Knapp with the help of Paul Timmerman Sr. The event continues to be funded and organized by members of the local native community and its goal is to share traditional teachings and cultures in the hopes of passing them on to native children and grandchildren as well as to the whole community at large.

The event includes numerous ceremonies and dances that take place around the central arbour area. An on site canteen was run by the Pow Wow committee, who offered up all day meals and snacks and evening feasts on both days. Also on site was a vendors' market area offering up a wide variety of native crafts, jewelry, clothing and regalia.

This year's arena director was Paul Carl, and the MC was Danka Brewer, with fire keeper Alex Brewer, head veteran Sharp Dopler, while Trudy Knapp managed the Pow Wow committee booth. In the arbour this year were three different men's drums that included Soaring Eagle, Big Wind and the Shimmering Water Singers as well as a group of women hand drummers. A wide variety of ceremonies took place around the arbour that included a walking out ceremony for children and young dancers new to the Pow Wow, a dancing out of the new regalia, plus many others.

Exhibition dances and inter-tribal dances also took place; the latter invites all guests, whether donning regalia or not, to take part. The traditional dancers as usual also took the time to show guests their various dance styles.

This year the Pow Wow attracted guests from as far away as British Columbia, the United States, Germany and Japan and I'm sure I heard a family speaking Italian. New this year was a native food vendor offering scone dogs and tacos, a cancer awareness booth, plus a number of workshops that included how to make dream catchers, medicine pouches and moccasins. Danka Brewer said that by incorporating workshops into the event the hope is to “introduce traditional teachings that can be learned by those who do not have exposure to them as well as to expand the teachings of our traditional culture.”

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