Indigenous dancers were at the museum Saturday to celebrate the coming of a cultural exhibit now on display at the Lloydminster Museum and Archives. Photo submitted by Sarah Hockridge
Ohcîwin is a Cree word meaning “The Origin” or telling of a story where something originated.
The Lloydminster Museum and Archives invites citizens to learn about the origins of the powwow and see handcrafted regalia up close in the exhibit Powwow! Ohcîwin The Origins.
The exhibit features seven powwow dance styles, with full regalia and craft work.
Curators and creators Patrick and Marrisa Mitsuing have gathered the stories, worked with the artisans, and carefully built the regalia for this exhibition.
“We’ve all heard of powwows, but to see what that means and know what that means in-person and to kind of get up close with some of these hand-made regalia,” said collection coordinator Holly Durawa.
“Everything in there is specifically hand-made for this show, you can really see the artisan work and the love and care that has gone into making these pieces. They are really beautiful up close.”
The exhibit opened on Saturday with many special guests on hand to welcome the Mitsuings. Attendees enjoyed tea and bannock as well as performances by Indigenous dancers.
“We had five-year-olds all dressed up in their regalia with their parents, so it was kind of like a multi-generational thing for some of the dancers that came in. It was really sweet,” said Durawa.
The Lloydminster Public School Division also took part in welcoming the Mitsuings to Lloyd.
“The LPSD has and Indigenous Mentors group. It’s groups of Indigenous kids working with mentors to explore their culture and history and kind of get in touch with it,” said Durawa.
“They had stuff that the kids made, projects they had done. They had one about tipis and what they represent, there was a project on missing Indigenous women, they had done one about ribbon skirts.”
The Mitsuings are a married couple who are passionate about sharing their culture throughout the world. Patrick is from the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation (near Loon Lake).
“Patrick was in Japan recently and France, so he travels all over sharing what he does and why he does it, and his life story,” said Durawa.
“He danced at the Superbowl last year. I guess they did a cultural event, and he was part of that.”
The Mitsuings worked with a diverse team of Indigenous artists from Western Canada and the U.S. to assemble each of the individual dance regalia on display. The dances are men’s traditional, men’s fancy, men’s chicken, men’s grass, women’s traditional, women’s fancy and women’s jingle.
The exhibit is now on display until April 20, 2024.
