Celebrating our Cultures
On Tuesday morning, the students were introduced to some of the traditions of some First Nations people. Mrs. Hegdepeth and her son Chayton discussed Pow-wows, their regalia and showed us three traditional dances. The students learned that a Pow-wow is a gathering of Natives and Non-Natives together to celebrate and dance. Pow-wows occur all over Canada and the United States. Native music and dancing is very popular at Pow-wows. The drum beat in the music represents the heart beat of Mother Earth. In Native music the drum beat is very powerful. Men, women and children of all ages join in the celebrations.Chayton, a fellow Pacer, was dressed in his Grass attire. The Grass Dance originated from Western Canada - the Plains. His outfit was to resemble the long grasses and his dance represented the grasses swaying in a Prairie field.
Mrs. Hegdepeth was wearing her Jingle Dress. Her dance originated from the Ojibway Native people in northern Ontario. The Jingle dance is a healing dance performed by women.
Their clothing is very meaningful and created using items from the environment. For example, the jingles are made of tin, curled soup lids. Mr. Hegdepeth puts a lot of time and patience into the bead work, and Mrs. Hegdepeth sews.The last dance performed together was called a Friendship Dance. This dance is typically a winter/ Christmas dance, and it is usually performed indoors when gathered with friends and family.Thank you to the Hegdepeth family for sharing their culture with us.
Stay tuned to learn about other cultures in our program.
Wednesday -Mrs. Calfas is performing and teaching a Greek Dance and Ms. Palmer will be showing us a Caribbean Dance for the students to practise while wearing their Caribbean hats that the students have made during centre time. Ms. Murray will also be sharing some popular Canadian Dances.
Thursday - In the afternoon Mr. Romano will be sharing one of his favourite stories that discuss his Italian heritage.
Friday - Dalida's Aunt will be performing a Dance for us , and we will be enjoying a Cultural Potluck during the day.
