Miranda Anthistle
A&E reporter

Dancers, hand drummers and the Tall Pine Singers will be perform for free at the Humber aboriginal powwow — the the first of its kind — at Lakeshore Campus on March 25.
The Pow Wow, called Namebini Geezis [meaning snow-crested moon in Ojibwe], will also have native artisans and artwork.
“By having this Pow Wow, we’re making the culture more accessible,” said Amanda Murray, a Saulteaux originally from Pine Creek First Nation, Manitoba.
“Our hope is that Humber students will come forward and take part in events that support and promote native culture.”
Murray is a fancy shawl dancer and attended the first of two powwows hosted by aboriginal student services last year at North Campus.
“Pow Wows are a chance for aboriginal people to gather and celebrate their culture and to socialize through song and dance,” said Murray, who now works as the assistant in Humber’s aboriginal student services youth and elder mentorship program.
Isaiah Cada, an Ojibwe-Mohawk, has participated in two Humber Pow Wows and will sing on the hand drum at this month’s event.
“It’s a way to keep the culture going, to show everybody that native people still exist,” he said.
The Pow Wow will have a traditional opening with prayer and ceremonial songs.
Performers and dancers wearing traditional aboriginal regalia will surround the host drum.
Ojibwe-Mohawk elder, Shelley Charles has organized cultural events like Pow Wows at Humber for the past three years.
She said this month’s Pow Wow is a way to reach out to native students at Lakeshore and to inform the rest of the college community about the contributions made by aboriginal people.
“It’s important because it’s a casual way for students to see and experience native music and dance,” she said.
“It’s also a way to dialogue with each other, to have that opportunity to meet other native students on campus.”
Students can attend the Pow Wow, which starts at noon in the Student Centre.