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Newcomers to Canada (93-94)

Winnipeg organizations offer 240 newcomers chance to experience Indigenous culture at Manito Ahbee powwow

May 20, 2023

Trip an opportunity to educate, connect newcomers to Indigenous people: IRCOM ED

Newcomers to Canada get to see a powwow for the first time at Manito Ahbee
A partnership between veteran dancer Clayton Sandy and several refugee and settlement organizations in Winnipeg brought 240 people from across the globe to the festival grounds on Saturday. He says he’s been finding similarities between the experiences of new immigrants and his experience as a Dakota man.

Click on the following link to view the video:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manito-ahbee-powwow-newcomer-trip-2023-1.6850724

CBC News: Around 240 newcomers from across the globe attended the 18th annual Manito Ahbee powwow in Winnipeg on Saturday to experience and learn about Indigenous culture. They filled four Winnipeg Transit buses to attend the powwow at Assiniboia Downs, which began on Friday and runs until Sunday.

Dalila Lokwa, originally from Congo, attended the event with her mother and 18-month-old daughter, Shamsa Yahyaoui. She said it was their first time seeing a powwow. “It’s a nice experience for me. I loved it so much,” Lokwa told CBC News. “I thought of the Brazilian Carnival. It was so colourful and beautiful.”

A mother, daughter and granddaughter are pictured smiling toward the camera. Behind them is a tipi.
Dalila Lokwa, right, attended the Manito Ahbee powwow on Saturday with her mother, Shamsa Muhammed, and 18-month-old daughter. She says it was their first time witnessing a powwow. (Erin Brohman/CBC)

Her mother Shamsa Muhammad, originally from Uganda, said she loved the powwow. “It was nice to be here and to talk to many different people.” The trip was organized thanks to a partnership by Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network, Immigration Partnership Winnipeg and the Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization of Manitoba (IRCOM).

Powwow dancers are pictured
Many of the 240 newcomers who signed up to attend the powwow had never seen one before, organizer Clayton Sandy said. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)

It’s the second year in a row veteran powwow dancer Clayton Sandy extended the invitation to the organizations to attend Manito Ahbee. He says this year, nearly twice the number of people signed up.

“Many of them have never seen a powwow before,” he told CBC News. “I really like the newcomers today because they’re really energetic, they want change, and they want to work with anybody.”

A man is pictured smiling.
Clayton Sandy sees the powwow as an opportunity to build bridges between newcomers and Indigenous people. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)

Sandy, a member of Sioux Valley Dakota Nation, said some newcomers have pointed out similarities between their cultures after experiencing the powwow. Workshops were also scheduled to explain the powwow dances and outfits for the newcomers, he said.

As the child of the Sixties Scoop and parents who went to residential school, he says he shares the trauma of displacement that many newcomers also carry. He sees the powwow as an opportunity to build bridges between newcomers and Indigenous people. “Until we start building relationships and partnerships — nothing changes,” said Sandy. “We’re educating a lot of people but we’re also passing this down to our children.”

Shereen Denetto, executive director of IRCOM, agreed that the powwow was a chance to educate and showcase Indigenous culture in its glory. “They don’t really have good information about the strengths, traditions and customs of Indigenous people,” she told CBC News.

‘Profound impact’

The families who attended the Manito Ahbee powwow last year spoke about it for months afterward, she said. “They had no idea that there were these living, vibrant communities all around them, so it has a profound impact.”

Mihret Tekie said she waited for weeks to attend the powwow and brought her kids and cousin along. The refugee from Sudan, who is originally from Eritrea, said it was her first time attending one. She was curious to see the dancers and their outfits. “We’re a part of them here in Canada, so we wanted to know what the culture looks like,” she told CBC News.

Manito Ahbee runs until Monday and everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.

A crowd is pictured. In the centre, a woman holding her son's hand smiles and looks forward.
Mihret Tekie is thankful to the organizations for giving newcomers an opportunity to experience a powwow.(Randall McKenzie/CBC)

Tekie said she’s thankful to the organizations for giving newcomers the opportunity to experience the powwow. “It’s so fun.”

With files from Erin Brohman and Nampande Londe