P.E. McGibbon off to the Pow Wow at Lambton College

With the news and anticipation of the 27th annual Lambton College Indigenous Pow Wow approaching, the team saw this as an opportunity to provide our students as well as ourselves with an authentic experience. Jen and I had familiarized our students with traditional Pow Wow dancing by engaging in Pow Wow Sweat (if you haven't checked out these YouTube videos by The Style Horse Collective yet, you're missing out!). 

Jen and I brought our grade 1's and 2's from P.E. McGibbon to the event and were overwhelmed by the knowledge that guided us into the new athletics centre where the PowWow dancing arena was formed. The most impressive aspect of the Pow Wow was the amount of knowledge its participants were able to seek out by walking around and speaking to Indigenous People to gain first hand knowledge on cultural practices such as beading, regalia, and symbols. 

Our students hurried to grab front row seats and immediately picked out dancers doing the fancy shawl and chicken dance. The most heartwarming part of the day was the inclusive environment established as attendees were invited to become participants. Every single one of my students jumped (literally) at the opportunity to join in the dancing arena. The rich cultural experience I gained alongside my students came from not only familiarizing ourselves with Ojibwe culture and dance but most importantly, taking that risk to try something new and foreign to us and coming together in that experience that we share and appreciate.