‘Honour our mothers’: Thousands gather for annual powwow

Hundreds of dancers, singers and drum groups celebrated Indigenous culture on Saturday, honouring mothers and Mother Earth.

Hundreds of dancers, drum groups and singers in full regalia gathered for a decades-old annual celebration of Indigenous culture.

The Ben Calf Robe Traditional Powwow, held this year at the Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre, has been partnering with the Edmonton Catholic Schools for more than 40 years. Some 8,000-10,000 attendees are expected through the day.

“We come together every year to honour our mothers. It’s always the day before Mother’s Day, because they are life-givers, and also to honour our Mother Earth and the children,” said Kêhtêya Cree Elder Betty Letendre.

“We honour each other as human beings.”

She said it’s been “so rewarding” to partner with the school board, which she herself initiated in the early 2000s.

“They were the first to start talking about truth in the early 1980s, and to allow us to be partnered, to bring our ceremonies back into the schools so our children would learn where they come from and who they are. So I’m very proud of that,” she added.

The Ben Calf Robe Society was established in the 80s after a group of concerned residents petitioned the city to address low graduation rates of Indigenous children. The result was a collaboration with the Catholic school board to provide youth and family support services.

Ben Calf Robe, the group’s namesake, was a Blackfoot Elder and residential school survivor.

“It’s a way for our whole school division to continue to walk side by side, hand in hand, as we reconcile together and continue to work together,” said Edmonton Catholic Schools student services superintendent Joe Naccarato.

This year’s theme was “prayers with peace.”

“Every dance that we do, every step is a prayer … We show it by celebrating with our bodies, our steps. That’s a prayer for everybody,” Letendre said.

The Ben Calf Robe Traditional Powwow runs until 9 p.m. Saturday.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Galen McDougall