Walking in 2 worlds: Dakota Nation Winterfest showcases culture and sports
CBC
Darian Brown is living and competing in two worlds this weekend — powwow and hockey.
Brown, 25, is among those gathered this week in Brandon, Man., for Dakota Nation Winterfest, the annual celebration of Indigenous culture and sports hosted by Sioux Valley Dakota Nation.
On Friday night, the men's fancy dancer participated in the grand entry for the Winterfest powwow, before rushing to the ice rink an hour later to compete in seniors hockey at Brandon's Keystone Centre.
"Every year … just gets better and better," he said. "It's a time away from, like, work … [and] stress in general."
The four-day event, running from Thursday to Sunday, includes traditional activities like powwow and jigging, sports tournaments and a trade show, all designed to help people get active at the height of winter.
Brown has been coming to Winterfest since he was born, and hockey and powwow are intertwined for him.
Winterfest is an important opportunity for youth to demonstrate their skills in the powwow arena or on the ice, where they can "showcase their skill, their speed – you know, their playmaking ability," Brown said.
Sioux Valley Dakota Nation Chief Vince Tacan says Winterfest brings communities together and offers "a mental health break ... for our people."
Events like Winterfest and Sioux Valley's annual summer powwow are times when the community can come together, Tacan said, but he'd like to see even more opportunities to do so.
"It's difficult to keep the morale of the community up.… There's a lot of challenges in our First Nations," Tacan said.
"This weekend gives us an opportunity to forget some of those challenges and just focus on showcasing the culture and the athleticism that the kids have, and the adults."
Sioux Valley's chief and council are trying to inspire youth to embrace both sports and culture, Tacan said. Luckily, the community has inspiration in hometown NHL hero Zach Whitecloud, who took home the Stanley Cup with the Las Vegas Golden Knights last season.
That victory is showing younger people that hard work, a good work ethic and commitment are qualities that can help them succeed on the ice and beyond, Tacan said.
"Those are the things we want to promote in our community for our young people so that ... we can fill the roles that we need," he said.
It may seem like creatine is everywhere, with podcasters, wellness influencers and maybe even your neighbour promoting products. In fact, the creatine market is projected to increase in the U.S. and Canada.
Imagine a network of Indigenous superhero operatives who battle colonialism, threats to the environment and reclaim stolen Indigenous artifacts around the world.
By Roberto Verdecchia, director of Can Dogs Talk?
The second Antonio Osuna-Mascaró and Alice Auersperg saw a video of Veronika the cow scratching her backside with a branch, they knew they had to drop everything to go meet her.
Dalhousie University in Halifax has revoked the honorary degree it awarded to Buffy Sainte-Marie in 2018 after a Mi’kmaw student raised concerns about the harms of maintaining the honour.
Penguins in Antarctica are changing their breeding habits at record speed to survive rising temperatures from climate change, a decade-long study has found.
First Nations leaders in B.C. say the province’s decision to discontinue its drug decriminalization project is “a serious lapse of judgement."
A global race is underway to bring robotics into our everyday lives, with a new generation of AI-powered robots promising greater flexibility.
As Toronto and Vancouver gear up to co-host FIFA World Cup games this summer, an emergency doctor worries that Canada's overburdened health-care system won't be able to handle any extra demand that could result.
The moment someone gets into Regan Gamble’s taxi, she knows what kind of music they like. Gamble, who owns and operates a taxi service specifically for Indigenous women called SheDrives, says she can predict her clients’ tastes — from Ernest Monias to Fawn Wood.
Nuclear fusion milestones from Canada's General Fusion and China's EAST reactor have caused a buzz over this potentially limitless, clean energy source becoming a reality amid rising power demand from AI and electrification. Meanwhile, new fusion startups have been popping up around the world and have drawn billions in private investment.
Canada's Armed Forces personnel have joined the ranks of local tradesmen and volunteers to begin to repair hundreds of homes damaged n Pimicikamak Cree Nation in the aftermath of a power outage last month.
It’s been 52 years since humans last visited the moon, but that’s about to change.