Do We all Pow Wow?

There is a mis-conception that some people share outside of Canada. This is that all Indian people use the pow wow for traditional ceremonies.

"Pow wows are ceremonies practiced mainly by the central Indians of Canada. Initially it was said that these were ceremonies for healing but today they are primarily done for Indian dance competition. The regalia that is used for pow wow dancing is what most people perceive that all Indians wear for ceremony."

Unfortunately, this is un-true. As Indian people that reside in Canada, we do not all practice the pow wow ways. The pow wow is not the traditional way for all Indians. Just as any other people, we all have different ceremony systems. We all have our own culture and beliefs.

Our ceremonies and practices are different across Canada. The following are what I know of:

• Pow-Wow (mostly central Canada)
• Potlatch Ceremonies (mostly the north west coast of Canada)
• Big House Ceremonies (mostly in the south west coast of Canada)
• Longhouse Ceremonies (mostly in the eastern portion of Canada)

Each of these systems was practiced for different purposes. Some specific and others as general but important community business.

The could include:

• Traditional healing medicine
• Celebration & honouring of animals
• Traditional name giving
• Grieving a death
• Adopting a child
• Apologizing for wrong doings
• Sharing commitment to the creator

For myself, I am with the north west coast where we practice the potlatch system.

Indian Housing

Housing on the reserve is an ongoing process for most Indian communities. The problem here is that Indian people never own the house or land on a reserve. It is considered crown land (owned by the national government).

Since the land is owned by the crown; Indian people are required to apply for a lot to use through the Indian reserve elected Chief & Council system. Once the application is done and approved than it is a matter of applying for funds from different national government sources.

In recent years, changes have been made to allow for mortgages for new homes on reserves. You have to admit that it is an interesting business.... getting people to take out 25 year mortgages for something that will never really be theirs. Once the home mortgage is paid off, we still can't use the house as collateral. The government does provide a certain amount of money as a grant to the house but this is only about a 3rd of the total cost or less.

The economics of a reserve don't help the situation that much either.

• Most reserves have an 80% unemployment rate
• Over 50% of most reserve populations are under the age of 19
• Most homes are currently over crowded
• Most homes are not maintained well due to costs & lack of personal funds
• If personal funds aren't lacking; people feel best to invest in something that will provide them collateral (a home isn't collateral)

The funny thing about all this is... I still want to be in my community even though the future of housing and employment isn't to bright.

The Reserve

In Canada, Indian reserves were created in the late 1800's. At that time they were called ranches. I remember discussions with elders who said that our people were forced onto reserves. They said that our people were told that they had to move on to reserves or go to jail and have their children taken away. While everyone was in the process of moving... the settlers began marking lands for themselves. This is where Canada comes from... our lands.

Today, many of our people still live on the reserve. Some of us live off reserve in order to attain employment, marriage, education or different life. But the reserve system is still there.

Lhlalyam's First Entry

Hello Everyone.

I'm not to sure who will read this, but I just want to share a little bit about Indians in Canada.

I realize that there is not much information about Indian people living in Canada. From a global view, some people view us as Red Indians with feathers and buck skin clothing. From a southern view, some people see us as living in Igloos at below zero temperatures. There are others that see us as extinct.

The purpose of this site is to just shed some light on what it is like to be an Indian in Canada.

Way!
Lhlalyam