Natalie (left) and Baby Doll (right) are one of the handful of vendors that sold merchandise inside the Student Center. Baby Doll got her name from her tribe.
By: Shaunte Sterling
The Humber community came together for its annual Aboriginal Services Fair and All Nations Pow-Wow in the school’s Ignite Student Centre on Thursday.
The event organized by the Aboriginal Resource Center showcased traditional drumming, dancing and craft vendors.
The jewelry was hand-crafted by Amy and her husband who could not attend the event.
Amy Rochard comes to the Humber Pow-Wow every year and appreciates students who has never seen Aboriginal style pieces.
“My husband makes more traditional stuff [incorporating] bones, horns and glass. I make contemporary original themed jewelry,” says Rochard.
Students, faculty members and the community had the opportunity to learn about the different dresses and how they represent unique dances.
Typically elderly women wear the shawl dress (above). Women do a intricate dance with their feet while swaying their shawl.
Humber student Carolina Ribeiro came to the event because she was drawn by the sound.
“All the colours and different [outfits] interested me and made me want to come down and check it out,” Ribeiro says.
The jingle dress is worn by women and carries miniature bells around the gown. Every dance has its own origin and reason behind it.
The grass dancer (above) occasionally moves low to the floor to connect the grass.
Ribeiro isn’t the only one who came down to check out the Pow Wow. Minutes into the ceremony space began to fill.
The ceremony started at noon and went on until 3 p.m.
Humber has the second largest native community in Canada.
Another important part of a Pow-Wow is the music. Drummers play songs throughout the fair. The beat of the drum represents the heart beat and that no matter who you are or where you come from we are somehow connected.
All the vendors had homemade crafts.
Charles Catchpole and his wife Amy sell homemade spices and food. Charles is a chef who rents out kitchen space to make his product.
Charles has a catering company that he runs when he isn’t busy working on his product.
“They are all [homemade] recipes and something I am passionate about. The name is a combination of my name and my wife’s,” Catchpole told Humber News.
His wife, Germaine is the Community Outreach and Resource Development Coordinator for Water First.
The charity is based in Creemore.
“[We] are working towards addressing water issues in first nations community,” said Catchpole.
The focus is to spread awareness while collecting donations wherever accepted.
Humber’s Aboriginal Elder Shelley Charles who works in the Aboriginal Resource Center says Aboriginal Awareness month helps educate the public.
The event “brings people from all cultures and backgrounds together and also to learn about Aboriginal culture and world view,” Charles says.
