8-year-old Cree/Anishinaabe powwow dancer appears on talk show
CBC
A First Nations family recently appeared on a popular U.S. daytime talk show to showcase their own styles of powwow dance.
On Feb. 5, Desirae Desnomie’s three children, Opichee Day-Bedeau, Aiyana, and Jaycen appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where they performed and sat for interviews.
It all started with a Tiktok video of Desnomie's youngest, who they call Baby Opie, dancing at a powwow. Producers of the show came across it and invited him to the show.
Desnomie said at first she thought the message on social media was from a bot, when she read it last October, but after finding out it was the real deal, so she told Baby Opie the news.
“I was like, whoa, like are you for real? Or, or are you just joking,” said Day-Bedeau.
Day-Bedeau, who is a member of Bois Forte Band of Chippewa in Minnesota, has been dancing powwow with his family since he was in diapers and attends powwows alongside his family.
His sister Aiyana and brother Jaycen, who are from Peepeekisis Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, were also invited to perform on the show, while their mom sat with the audience.
“Culture is so important to my family because it's a celebration and all that stuff and so I'm really grateful to go to powwows,” said Day-Bedeau.
Desnomie said her family lives in Mandan, N.D., but still heads home to Saskatchewan to attend powwows in the summer and roundances in the winter, where she sings alongside the drum.
Desnomie said as a mom, seeing her kids on a TV show that has such a big platform was a big moment for her, to represent their culture in an authentic way.
“To see my children pick that up and just carry it further than I could ever even imagine is nothing short of amazing in my eyes and I'm just beaming with pride,” said Desnomie.
As for Baby Opie, there's nothing small about his moves and love for singing with the drum. He said his favorite thing on the show was when they called his name.
“Walking out and waving and all the people, I felt the love of the Jennifer Hudson fans,” said Day-Bedeau.
A First Nations family recently appeared on a popular U.S. daytime talk show to showcase their own styles of powwow dance.
People in Canada have a new, less invasive way to test for HIV at home, following Health Canada's approval of an oral self-test.
Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind., is working with Nakota communities to return valuable cultural archives of recordings of their elders.
Children face five major risk factors early in life that can set them up to develop food allergies, says a Canadian-led team of researchers who sifted through studies on 2.8 million participants in 40 countries, one of the largest reviews of its kind.
Deep within a dark growing chamber in the bowels of a research lab at Acadia University, a lumpy white substance blooms up from an industrial tray.
Most of the world doesn’t require a prescription for birth control. Why do Canadians still need one?
Leah Morris has been on birth control since she was a teenager. She remembers that first appointment being deceptively simple.
Nearly $300M in federal contracts went to companies later removed from Indigenous Business Directory
Over $285 million in federal government contracts for Indigenous businesses were awarded over a five-year period to companies that have since been removed from its Indigenous Business Directory, according to a response to a written question in the House of Commons.
The Artemis II mission, which was initially supposed to launch on Feb. 8, has now been delayed by at least a month after NASA found a hydrogen leak while fuelling the tank.
Facing the reality that a majority of Canadian students are using generative AI for schoolwork, more educators are bringing artificial intelligence into their university classrooms, setting clear rules and encouraging students to use it responsibly — and with a critical eye.
Five more First Nations have joined a court challenge against new federal and provincial laws aimed at fast-tracking development, saying they threaten Indigenous rights.
Scientists who monitor Canada’s environmental health and protect Canadians from extreme weather events and industrial disasters could soon find themselves on the federal government’s chopping block.
The federal government is reviving proposed legislation that would allow digital health information to be shared safely across electronic systems, giving both patients and providers access to more comprehensive medical records.
Some First Nations in Saskatchewan will hold information sessions about making claims under the Federal Indian Hospitals Settlement. One lawyer from Keeseekoose First Nation says having to revisit the experience can be difficult and she wants to help.