Last week we didn’t have class, instead we went on a field trip to Quinte Mohawk School. We had the pleasure of joining in on their harvest festival ceremonies at the school. It was a new experience that at first I was unsure of. As time went on and the day passed I enjoyed myself a lot in the new surroundings and with the children. I missed about 30 minutes due to being late, but when I got there I got the opportunity to join in on some classes that were dancing in the gym. We did three different dances where we danced in a circle around the people playing the music. The first dance everybody joined in, the second one was just the girls dancing around, and the third was both again. The third dance was the dance that I found the most interesting. The girls lined up on one side facing the bys and the boys lined up on the other side facing the girls. The music started slow and the boys would move forward as the girls moved backwards. This went on for a while then the music would pick up and the boys would join hands with a partner and make an arch or tunnel. The girls would then all try and run through the tunnel. The music would go back to being slow and you would go back to either walking backwards if you were a girl or forward if you were a boy in your groups. After the dances we went and helped the kids with their crafts in the class rooms, and went out for recess and played with the kids.
We brought activities to play with the children outside. During recess I found it was easier to engage the younger children in activities with us rather than the older ones. The older kids would play with each other while the younger ones would come up and play with us. I also noticed that you had to reach out and ask them if and what they wanted to play. They wouldn’t directly approach you. At first I found this a bit challenging because I was a bit nervous. Then I realized that they were probably shy as well so I started to interact with them more. We also got an opportunity to play lacrosse with the kids. Then we went in and the CYW classes and teachers gathered in the gym and we had a turkey dinner. It was a lot of fun and a neat experience. I found it interesting when they spoke their language, to say thanks for the meal we were about to eat. It showed how thankful they are for the things that they have.
I found the dancing and the music they were playing the most interesting and decided to research it and see what I could find. It was hard to find about a specific type of dance so I just looked up their powwows and I found out a lot of interesting things. I looked at this site and I found it really interesting. I started reading about the Blackfoot dance. Dancing was a big part of their spirituality. They were very spiritual and believed that young men would go into the woods and have a dream or vision. This would give them a spirit to protect them throughout their life. During their dances tobacco was burned because they believed it was a way to reach the spirits. Their most important ritual is the sun dance, it is still preformed today. It takes place over three to four days and they celebrate and feast during this time. Part of the ceremony was a test of the warriors’ strength and ability to take pain. I thought this part was really strange. The worriers upper arm muscle would get cut and a rope would be tied around it. The other end of the rope was then tied to the center post of the Sundance lodge until the muscle broke, or the warrior fainted of pain or exhaustion. That test of strength seems very unique and like it was a very old tradition. There were other types of dances that they still do today, but I found the history the most interesting. Here is the link in case you wanted to check it out: http://projects.cbe.ab.ca/ict/2learn/mmspeight/blackfoot/html/powwow.htm
This past week reminded me of the movie Pocahontas. It was one of my top movies as a child and I felt that it fits in with this week. In the picture above she is talking to Mother Nature, I never understood it then but I see now how it resembles how in touch with nature their culture is. I chose to add this video because it shows how First Nations can be so in touch with nature, and how they see everything. They think of animals and nature as being one where some people don't have that opinion. Other people just see it as land and animals. This video is also very inspirational and can show you a lot.
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