The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

:lad &DIT - Powwows tb more than dancing, laughing with friends. people who participated in cond annual Three Fires Powwow on the New ·t Indian Reserve this weekend rienced the revival of native ry. "A powwow is made up of rl- ls handed down to us over gene- ,_tions. It means many things to niany people. First, a powwow is a celebration of life - of us as living, l,feathing, human parts of all crea- ~- It signifies the past, present and future by giving appreciation to the young ones, paying respect to the elders and remembering the dead," said Eddie Benton Banai, of a Wisconsin reserve. He helped di- net the weekend ceremonies. "Secondly, it's a chance to be neilbbors and a chance to share in tliis peaceful setting, free from alco- bel or drugs. You can take time out ~ your life and watch or partici- Pi in all of the activity." 'l'.he powwow began Saturday moon with the lighting of three • in front of the old council build- inc on the reserve. The fires signify lbree nations - Ottawa, Pottawata- mi and Ojibway - who joined for military reasons in the early 1800s to tbrm the Three Fires Confederacy. Mississaugas of the New Credit are part of the Ojibway. They lit the t'lres for the first time in many de- cades last year at their homeland in Mississauga. They lived there until urban growth (Greed them to the New Credit re'serve in 1847. The coals f~m the rares were carried to New Credit reserve and relit for the first powwow. The fires burned throughout the hvo-day powwow on the weekend. To preserve the resurrection of the Con- ~eracy, signified by the fires, ~ests brought rocks to build a · rJtim. It will stand behind the three and a plaque explaining the of the Confederacy and the · Credit powwows will be placed iD a few week&. " shows there is something about the Ojibway cul- , the.._ velo ment I» wows caim are orts to bring it back." Following the fire ceremony where visitors threw tobacco in the flames so the smoke would carry their prayers to the heavens, the traditional dancing and drumming began. A parade of men, women and children waited to enter a circle of ·wood chips as drummers pounded and sang. The dancers were donned in leather pants and moccasins, •em- broidered robes of yellow, pink, blue, purple and other colors, decor- ated with beads, f ea the rs and bells. The procession was led by the former chief of the · Mississaugas, Fred King. He held a staff of feath- ers representing the Mississaugas, followed by men carrying Canadian, American and the Three Fires flags. The dancers stomped the ground and kicked to the drum's beat until they encompassed the entire circle. "Everything has a meaning," said Mr. Banai. The dancers enter from the east just as the river of life flows from east to west. The circle they dance on is the circle of life which is generation upon genera- tions old. It contains the tracks of our ancestors. We bring the children into the circle to add their tracks to it." Feels pulse The drums make people "feel the pulse of life," he said. • "The eagle staff is our flag and was here before the canadian or American flags arrived. We served those flags · so they're part of our history and are respected. But nei- ther of those flags ever lived up to the so,ealled pledges of justice and prosperity for all that were pro- mised. Maybe we died in vain for those flags." Dancers performed for the rest of the day. 'Ibey dancers travelled from across Ontario to the powwow. They weren't competing for pri- zes. The goal of the weekend was to have fun and understand how tradi- tional powwows used to be organ- ized. "They're not just dancing to have fun," said Mrs. King . "Every dance means something. 'Ibey tell a story." 1'he master or cer.,maaies, ,,. Beaucage, from the Ni Isling Mo . "The nored by ancing n lhe They were warrior chiefs and Mr movements told stories of bravery, battle and hunting. They even imi- tated animals. The_ir ~tfits ~ sent the animal their clan is froin. The women are honored through their dancing because they have the power to give life. They dance very slow and close to Mother Earth." He said traditional dancers wore strands of yam on their clothing to signify prairie grass. Other catego- ries were the fancy dancers who used colorful shawls and danced in quick, short movements. T,he Qtird group were jingle dancers. Rows of tiny bells tied to their clothing ~ as they performed. . Following powwows across the continent has taught Margaret Albert the meanings behind the dances. She lives on the Chippewa of the Thames reserve, near London, Ontario, but transports her three granddaughters to the powwows to participate in the dancing. · "The children learn to dance by their mothers. It's passed down ever generations. We go to powwows all summer. The last one will lkt held in November in Chicago. I meet old and new friends, 'Ibis is a smaller· powwow than others but it seems friendlier almost. New Credit is doing a good thing · by holding this because preserving Indian culture is important." . Brian and Josephine McKinney of Mississauga, hadn't seen a pow- wow before and weren't familiar with native history but they still enjoyed watching. · "We thought this would be the best time to see Indians at their best," said Mr. McKinney. "l'rn really enjoying the dancers and tat• ing pictures. I find It ironic, howev- er, to see the traditional dancing ia front of a tent full of electric.i equipment." · 'lbe celebrations COldfluled. darkness fell and bepn again for few hours on Sunday. The ieiit dismantled and the load people packed up their they aren't I . ..-St.,;. "I think year," said seem to be ..