Pow Wow 2013

Surprisingly, I slept well in that hammock.  Well, pretty well.  It got a little chilly and the sleeping bag was not set up perfectly.  All in all though, it was better than sleeping in a wet tent.

I did get up very early and proceeded to stir the house up.  First the dogs and then Tom.  The fire was still warm form the night before and, once awake, Tom added some more wood.  Coffee time and then a drive down to the lake for the TravelingDogs.

Betty's Cabin

The clouds were still in the air, but there were pockets of blue sky.  It was a great morning for a swim and Luther & BuddyJack completely agreed as the ball was tossed in the water.

The Lake in The Woods

Luther & BuddyJack, or Nessies?

We headed down to Pow Wow grounds to get some coffee and muffins in the big tent.  It was still early, but the traditional fire was still burning kept watch by a few folks over night.  Quite a feat considering the rain the night before.  Vendors had started to arrive and we spent a bit of time musing over their wares.  I was specifically looking for a ribbon shirt, a traditional native shirt worn during celebrations.  A fine example is the one being worn below.

As the morning progressed, more and more people arrived in full regalia.  The joy in the air and on the Pow Wow grounds was felt.  My family made their way down as well.  They made their way to the Elders Tent located right next to the dancing area.  A few more relatives from the states made it for the weekend including my great aunts Stella and Evi.  It has been many many years since seeing them.

Ribbon Dancers posing before the Pow Wow

Drummers drumming

I went back to looking for a ribbon shirt and was torn between two vendors who had them for sale.    They were different in materials and styles.  In fact one of the vendors had two very different materials.  One was a cotton and the other a very heavy sateen.  I decided on one of their cotton ones, a blue shirt with white ribbons with two feather insignias.

I went back to our tent to check on the rain water from the night before.  Tom joined me a few minutes later and we sopped up the water using a few towels and a blanket.  It worked pretty well and we laid the wet materials along the fence behind the tent to dry.  I changed into my new shirt and headed back to the Pow Wow which would be having it's official start within the hour.

The area getting very busy.  As I walked around, there were many Miqm'ak people preparing for the start.  The drummers were practicing their beats and the dancers were dancing to them.

I love this boys rapt attention to this older dancer.

First Dance?

Practicing his Dance

And another with the moves

The start of the Pow Wow begins with the Grand Entry, led off with the flags of our nations.  All of the dancers also go into the circle following the flag holders and dance around the flag pole.  The Grand Entry and the first three dances are sacred and not to be photographed or recorded.

Preparing the Flags

Chief Vicair welcoming to the Pow Wow

This was our 21st Pow Wow in Listuguj.  I have been coming since the second year.  I found it odd that I never met my Chief before.  Really, I never met our current one either.  I thought it would be great to introduce myself.  After he did his welcome and thank you to the crowd, I snagged for a hello and a selfie.

The Chief & Me!

The picture below, Tom took.  It is of me and Betty, our savior from the day before due to her cabin.

Betty & Me

The day continued with more family time and food.  The family was coming and going from the Elders tent.  All of them interested in one thing or another.  It was definitely all about the family that day.  The food part was also big.  We all individually like certain foods.  Naresh wants an Indian Taco.  My mother wants her strawberry shortcake.  Me, I love poutine.

Naresh, Li'l Naresh & Emma (in her sling)

Karen and her Funny Glasses

Danny & Autie

See Below...

Multiple Choice...Elders, Handicap, Dancers or Drummers

Taking a Break

Tom & Naresh

It was a great day but, towards the West, the sky was darkening again.  We wondered if the weather would hold off until the end of the day, but we were not that lucky.  Fairly quickly, the clouds unleashed their contents.  The announcement was made that they would continue the Pow Wow under the big tent within a short bit.  My family scattered to their respective cars and we headed to our tent.  Tom remembered about the dogs and the car windows so he headed up to the church parking lot to take get them and the car.  I took a look at the air mattress and my first thought was that BuddyJack would come in the tent and jump on it thus puncturing it.  We had nothing dry to cover it so I went back to one of the vendors that was selling blankets.  I had been looking at them all day and figured it was a great excuse to get one.

Purchase made, I ran back to the tent and began to prepare for the dogs.  The wind had picked up again and along with it, the tent collapsing.  I really thought we had the cords tight enough, but I guess not.  Tom pulled up as I was trying to secure the tent again.  It was very frustrating.  We finally decided to strike the tent instead of fighting with it.  Tom backed the car up to it and piece by piece was loaded our campsite into the car, in most inappropriate areas.  Times like this the tube on the roof would have been so much better.  The last thing to do was to fold the tent, never fun in the rain.  When we were done, we were both pretty wet.  Of course the dogs were happy as ever as they were dry and comfy in the backseat.  Lucky Dogs!

We crossed the bridge and went to my folk's hotel to chill out for a while.  The plan was to head to a relatives house to celebrate my aunt's birthday.  We had the chance to change into some dry clothing and hang with the family.  Even the dogs came in for a bit.  Naresh surprised us with a blanket that I had been looking at.  It was our Christmas present, early.  Sweet!

We headed over to the party, finally.  My mother thought she knew where it was, but was wrong.  We ended up calling my cousin Kevin for help.  He came to us and we each followed him to the right house.  All the same people that we shared the day with were there with some additional folk too.  We had a little food and then the cake was brought out for Auntie.

Evie and Friend

Happy Birthday, Auntie!

While at the house, we also ran into an old friend.  A few years back, a few dogs came to visit our campsite before being run off by the police.  I wrote about it here.  The dog may not remember us, but we did.  He is a great dog.  We took out Lu & BJ to see if they remembered, but they were more excited to simply get out of the car than about a dog they played a few years ago.

An Old Friend

It was time to say goodbye to the extended family.  Lots of hugs.  We headed back towards the hotel and hung out some more.  Naresh was thinking about playing some poker at the local casino.  I never knew he was as good as my family told me.  I guess he's done quite well in tournaments.

Li'l Naresh, Evie & Emma

It was a long day and it was time for us to head back to the cabin.  We planned to meet the family in the morning and crossed over to the Eastern time zone again.  I set up the hammock with my new blanket and worked out the kinks of a sleeping bag.  The rain continued, lulling me to sleep, I was out.