Evacuees find fellowship at powwow in Brandon

Trentt Hart holds his five-month old son at Stanley Park in Brandon. He tucks a Gatorade into his pocket and glances to a field nearby, where people are dancing and singing in a powwow.

“It’s good to get out,” said Hart. “It’s something to do instead of just being in the hotel.”

Hart, his girlfriend, his son and his 17-month-old daughter are some of the many wildfire evacuees from northern Manitoba. They are staying in Brandon, and were invited out to Stanley Park on Wednesday evening to join the community and feel at home.

The Oyate Wacipi Peoples Powwow hosted a special version of its weekly powwow yesterday to welcome Brandon’s evacuees and honour their journey with a feast. A table of sandwiches, Gatorades, bowls of soup, vegetables, fruits and breads was manned by six volunteers, who served the lineup.

All food was donated by the community.

Sam Jackson, who hosted the powwow, said that the event was organized so evacuees could have a place to come together. He said the committee wanted to offer evacuees the chance to listen to cultural singing and watch dancing because it would help raise their spirits.

“In my teachings, Indigenous people have always gathered,” said Jackson. “We have always tried to help each other, this is just our way of returning the good feeling to them.”

Powwow organizers spread the word to hotels where evacuees are staying, and posted on social media to promote the event. More than 100 community members and evacuees came, staying for the drumming, dancing, singing and to enjoy the warm Brandon evening.

Powwow committee member Sandi Leithwood said that the event was put on to reach out to evacuees.

“They are probably feeling lost,” said Leithwood. “This is a way to offer family. Right now we are all brother and sister here.”

When asked what she hopes the evacuees will take away from the event, Leithwood said, “That they feel better inside. That we give hope back.”

Hart told said the evacuation from Black Sturgeon Falls was well organized. He said he is thankful he was kept together with his family.

The stay in Brandon has been good, he said, adding that the hotel, the Colonial Inn, has done a good job providing food. But now time is the main concern. He said it can be restless staying in the hotel, not knowing how long they’ll be there.

“We go out for walks, but we’ve been in here since last Wednesday,” he said. “We were going to go to the fair but we didn’t have funds.”

This story was originally published in the Brandon Sun. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.