❝ In Anishinnabe culture, there are 6 seasons. There’s pre-winter, Oshkibiboon, the season when the ice freezes, and pre-spring, Ziigwan, the season when the ice breaks up.
These seasons are both very important, as they are generally associated with physical and personal movement.
They are important periods of transition.

Ziigwan.
That moment when everything melts, but winter hasn’t said its last word.
When snow holds back its season and winter insists.
When the bear wakes up and spring mingles with winter.

Minokamin (spring)
Then, slowly, the ice loosens its grip on the waters and they can flow freely.
The earth is no longer hidden by snow.
Spring awakens in the East.
It’s the season of childhood and innocence.
It’s a time for socializing and learning.
It’s the time of strawberries, called Odemin in the language of my ancestors, and for us Odemin also means heart.

For First Nations, the arrival of spring means the return of gatherings and exchanges on the PowWow trail.
And I can’t help feeling that our dances were meant to be eradicated.

I’m sharing here an excerpt from a letter written by Canada’s leading assimilationist, Duncan Campbell Scott, of the Department of Indian Affairs in Ottawa in 1921, banning the dances of Indigenous peoples.

It is observed with alarm that the holding of dances by the Indians on their reserves is on the increase, and that these practices tend to disorganize the efforts which the Department is putting forth to make them self-supporting, I have, therefore, to direct you to use your utmost endeavours to dissuade the Indians from excessive indulgence in the practice of dancing. You should suppress any dances which cause waste of time, interfere with the occupations of the Indians, unsettle them for serious work, injure their health or encourage them in sloth and idleness. You should also dissuade, and, if possible, prevent them from leaving their reserves for the purpose of attending fairs, exhibitions, etc., when their absence would result in their own farming and other interests being neglected. It is realized that reasonable amusement and recreation should be enjoyed by Indians, but they should not be allowed to dissipate their energies and abandon themselves to demoralizing amusements. By the use of tact and firmness you can obtain control and keep it, and this obstacle to continued progress will then disappear.

Yours very truly,
Duncan Campbell Scott

Nature is our greatest model of resilience.
Every year, she resurfaces.

I offer you this short video reminding us that dancing is an act of resilience, bringing responsibility, knowledge and healing. ❞

Migwetc,
Caroline Monnet

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