By: Tyrone Sitting Eagle
On August 27th, Spike Eagle Speaker Jr. will be hosting the Singing is Medicine “An evening of community healing” Powwow. This is the second year that this event will be taking place, and its inception is something that was very unexpected.
In the summer of 2023, the annual Siksika Fair was moved from August to the end of June, leaving a weekend free for Siksika. With the free time, the community of Siksika became restless with no Powwow’s happening. It started out as something that wasn’t to be taken seriously, but Spike put out a Facebook post stating he would be having a traditional powwow. Shortly after this Facebook post, Spike received multiple messages asking if he was hosting a powwow.
“As sort of a joke, I put up a post saying, ‘I will be at the arbour on this day; if you want to come sing and dance, come out.'” Said Spike in an interview.
With that, the messages continued, and he began to believe that having a powwow wasn’t too far-fetched. With that, Spike started organizing and decided that this event would be hosted outside the arbour.
The powwow was a big success, as there were a lot of community members and members from surrounding communities who came out to participate. There was also a lot of support that came as Darcy Turning Robe donated the use of his sound system and volunteer emcees who came out to help as well. All youth dancers were also given some money with the donations that were provided, with many more donations being put into the powwow.
The main theme for this Powwow is bringing the community together and taking a step away from the busy world around us. This event is being held for the love of dancing, singing, and seeing family and friends. Spike hopes that his event will bring back those days when the people of Siksika would visit and spend time with each other.
“I wanted this to be something that was for the community, something for our people.” Said Spike.
There was also no vendor fee, just a small donation of whatever you can give. Spike wanted this to help vendors and community members showcase what they have to offer. This proved very beneficial, as it gave many a chance with no extra cost for vendors to showcase their art, food, and other items to help with their business.
In the future, Spike wants the Powwow to grow and keep the community’s wellness, with it being not for profit. He wants this to stay with the people and have this be a place where people can come and dance because they love to dance. This is good for the community because it is giving Siksika something to look forward to and letting the community of Siksika be part of something great. At this year’s Powwow, there will also be a community give-away, where there will be an honour dance, and shortly after, whoever wants to have something to give away can do so. In turn, Spike Eagle Speaker Jr. is really bringing Siksika together in a very good way. As well, be sure to check out the powwow on Tuesday, August 27th which will be held outside the arbour.
