Non-Indigenous visitors to Wanuskewin join round dance, enjoy hands-on week

Wanuskewin Heritage Park celebrated its 25th anniversary by nixing its annual powwowand offering a far more immersive experience for visitors.

Dancer Curtis Standing compared watching a performance for the first time to "going to a hockey game and not knowing what's happening."

"But here, once they see the dance performance, they start understanding a bit of the significance," he said, "and it takes many years to learn it, but it's a good way to start things off."

Standing was taught the traditional dance he performed Thursday afternoon by his father and grandfathers. He is now responsible for teaching his children and grandchildren.

He also feels responsibility for bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, to help others understand the significance of his performance.

"This ismore educational, teaching people what it isand bridging different cultures together," said Standing. "If they want to come to powwows they can feel more comfortable and know what's going on."

Standing concluded his performance with a round dance, which he invited the audience to join in.

25 years of education

The park, which has put in a bid to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site, opened its interpretive centre in 1992, and management is looking toward the future.

"We want to go deeper, and this culture week represents our goals of where we want to head to," said Bonnie Masuskapoe, a senior interpreter at the centre.

Masuskapoe is Cree, and shares stories of her upbringing with visitors but is conscious of the diversity within the area's First Nations. Culture week is meant to celebrate that diversity by hosting presentations from various First Nations from across Saskatchewan.

"We don't just talk about our own. Weall have our own ways to celebrate, different ways to put up a teepee, ways we were brought up, different teachings and none of them are wrong," said Masuskapoe.

While Masuskapoe often speaks to visitors about her nation's reliance on bison, northern communities hosted workshops throughout the week highlighting their reliance on fishing and netting.

Plus, this week, elders have been asked to share their experiences with visitors.

"We're all learners at a young age. The facilitators we brought in are here to share experiences with us, people we see as beautiful knowledge keepers," saidMasuskapoe.

A feast was organized to end the week, to honour First Nations ancestorsand give them offerings.

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