And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:

Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 15:08:55 -0400
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: Lynne Moss-Sharman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: SIX NATIONS POW-WOW

THE DRUMS CALLED ME BACK

                              By VINCENT BALL 
Brantford Expositor  July 26, 1999

Ohsweken -- Jim Caagoonse Mccue spent many years headed in the wrong
direction and it wasn't until he heard the sound of the drums that he
finally got on the right path.

``I used to dance in powwows when I was a kid but then I put my regalia
away,'' Caagoonse Mccue, 44, said. ``I entered a different world. I lost my
way and I was addicted to drugs and alcohol.''

Then, one day when he was attending a powwow, he heard the drums and
started to cry.

``A young dancer came over, put his arm around me and said `welcome
back,''' Caagoonse Mccue recalled.

``The drums called me back.''

He returned to dancing in the powwows seven years ago and has been clean of
drugs and alcohol ever since.

On Saturday and Sunday, he was one of 356 dancers taking part in Six
Nations of the Grand River Champion of Champions PowWow held at Chiefswood
Park. He's from the Curve Lake First Nations, north of Peterborough.

``This is part of my healing,'' he said of his return to the powwow. ``This
has helped me get a better understanding of who I am. It has helped give me
back my identity.

``It's part of making my life one of balance and wellness.''

He participates in powwows just about every weekend and he's not the only
one to take up the dance following hard times.

Les Harper, 26, of Toronto, began participating in powwows six years ago.

``I used to do drugs and drink alcohol all the time,'' said Harper, who is
originally from Saddle Lake, Alberta. ``My family showed me the right way
by example but I didn't follow it and they didn't force me.

However, he began joining in powwows and put the drugs and alcohol behind him.

He too has been clean ever since and feels a lot better for it.

``It's the best feeling I've ever had,'' Harper said of his dancing. ``I
don't know how to describe it. I don't really have a word for it.''

Dancers also spend a great deal of time putting together their regalia, and
on the weekend, many of the participants including Caagoonse Mccue were
kept busy posing for pictures with tourists.

The regalia often includes Eagle feathers, intricate bead work, leather
fringes, claws and fur.

Each dancer creates his own outfit with the aim of saying something about
their lives, Harper said.

The Six Nations powwow is a huge event that attracts participants from
across North America. This was the 20th anniversary of the powwow which
usually attracts 10,000 to 15,000 people.

Charlene Bomberry, a member of the organizing committee, remembers how it
began.

``There was a group of us from the Six Nations who were always going to
powwows,'' Bomberry said. ``We thought, why not hold one here at the Six
Nations.''

Organizers work throughout the year to ensure the event runs smoothly.

``Everybody pretty much knows what needs to be done and it just gets
done,'' Bomberry said, adding that people who provide supplies for the
event already know what's needed each year.

Dancers compete in several categories depending on their age and gender
with the youngest competitors being tots of five years to the golden age
competitors who are 50 and older.

The dancers are also competing for a share of $35,000 worth of prize money.

But while the dancers with their colourful regalia are the focus of most of
the attention, the event also attracted more than 100 people selling native
crafts including necklaces, clothing and jewelry.

There was also plenty of food available such as buffalo burgers, Indian
tacos, corn soup and fried bread.



            
              "Let Us Consider The Human Brain As
               A Very Complex Photographic Plate"
                    1957 G.H. Estabrooks
                www.angelfire.com/mn/mcap/bc.html

                   FOR   K A R E N  #01182
                  who died fighting  4/23/99

                  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
                      www.aches-mc.org
                        807-622-5407

                           

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