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National Aboriginal Day – Amazing Pow-Wow in Ottawa

A couple of years ago, I attended the National Aboriginal Day celebrations on Victoria Island, by Parliament Hill. I was introduced to Aboriginal culture and had a great day among the performers.

This year, I was pleasantly surprised to see the festival had grown quite a bit. It has now moved to Vimy Place, on Lebreton Flats—and it was packed!

I spent most of the time watching the pow-wow competition where dozens of kids, men, women and elders took turns performing traditional dances. The costumes were simply amazing! The atmosphere was great too, people were relaxed and welcoming… a photographer’s dream.

As a new Canadian, I fell in love with Aboriginal culture. Despite years of forced assimilation into French and English settlers’ culture and terrifying statistics regarding poverty, incarceration and education, Aboriginal culture is alive in Canada. I find it comforting. Maybe it’s not too late to end the injustices. Each nation had done atrocities at one point or another in history, but great nations acknowledged it eventually and put it right. And it’s also up to us, new Canadians, to learn about Aboriginal culture and to respect it. So, let’s celebrate!

Native Veteran
Kid Dancing
Aboriginal Drum
Moccasins
Awesome Makeup!
On Stage
Feathers
Older Dancer
With a Little Help From My Friend
Three Dancers
Lost in the Crowd
Watching the Show
Watching the Show
Dancing
Getting Ready
Dancers
Eagle Drum
Thanking Each Others
Drum
Amazing Costumes
Headgear
Braiding Hair
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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