Dressed for the powwow

Before the isolation of the pandemic, 15-year-old Kanehsata’kehró:non Sage Harrington loved to powwow dance. She recalls days spent as a child dancing with her father, Al Harrington - memories that felt distant until last weekend, when she and her father stepped back into the circle at the 33rd edition of the Echoes of a Proud Nation Pow-Wow in Kahnawake.

“It felt so good. I haven’t danced in so long,” Sage said. “The highlight was just doing that, just dancing with my dad.”

Al, who is Ojibwe but lives in Kanesatake with his family, had also taken a prolonged break from dancing. He’d even put away his regalia, considering his hiatus from the powwow arena to be permanent.

“I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to dance again, and then a month before the Kahnawake powwow, Sage said she wanted to do it,” he said.

There was just one problem to address: the matter of what to wear. Sage wanted to dance fancy shawl, and since dedicating herself to athletics, she no longer fit her pre-pandemic regalia.

Luckily, their good friend Tess Lalonde stepped in to help, hand-crafting custom regalia for Sage and Al.

Sage’s fancy shawl was stitched with love, said Lalonde, who is Dakota Sioux and a long-time resident of Kanesatake.

“I found this nice shiny black and with the pink, my goodness, it all came together, it just made something wonderful,” Lalonde said. “She was so happy. To see her happy made me even happier.”

She included double the ribbons to make the piece especially eye-catching.

“It makes it look richer. The girls love it with more ribbons, it just woos everyone,” Lalonde said. “Everything just looked beautiful.”

For Al, Lalonde made a massive set of wings, crafted using eagle feathers that a bird rehabilitation centre had donated to her after a number of birds had passed away in an accident.

Al wore the wings in dances throughout the weekend, placing third in the senior men’s traditional category.

“I wasn’t expecting to place. I felt a little shy when I heard that, because out of my whole life dancing, about 20 years, I’ve never won anything, so that was my first time,” he said. “I usually don’t competition powwows, so it felt great.”

In return for Sage’s regalia, Al is taking care of Lalonde’s yard all summer, and in return for his wings, he’s redoing her patio.

“These are trades where it works out for me and for them,” Lalonde said. “I’ve always done that, I love to trade.”

Lalonde got to see more of her creations at the powwow, including a jingle dress made last year for Kanehsata’kehró:non Valerie Gabriel, as well as three pieces for the children of Cory Golder, a Mi’kmaq dancer from Listuguj who also has Secwepemc and Lenape heritage.

Golder obtained funding for the regalia from Jordan’s Principle with the help of Native Montreal. Lalonde created pieces for his three children Journey, Casa, and Kaylee that reflected their identities and incorporated their spirit names.

“Seeing my kids in regalia that honoured their names, their spirit, and our culture, filled me with gratitude. It was emotional,” Golder said. “Watching my children dance in regalia made just for them, surrounded by community, was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.”

He said that using funding from initiatives like Jordan’s Principle is important - it means that the next generation of Onkwehón:we can dance without financial barriers getting in the way.

“Tess put so much heart and care into each piece, and it really showed,” he said. “They moved with pride, and I could feel the presence of our ancestors with them. It reminded me of the strength of our culture and how important it is to pass these ways on.”

Lalonde said it’s hard to put into words how meaningful it is to see young dancers like Golder’s children wearing her creations.

“I’m very humbled that they’re wearing it,” she said. “It was a lot of work, but I’m so proud to see them all wearing it.”

[email protected]