Powwow in Banff

After our big Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, we visited a small powwow in Banff. In the meantime, we have learned a little more about the types of dances. Even among indigenous tribes, women were not allowed to dance for a long time, it was considered inappropriate. However, this has now changed, and women are allowed to compete in three categories, while men can compete in four. In general, dances can be roughly categorized as traditional (slow, more for the older generation), somewhat faster, and fancy (fast dances for the younger ones). For men, the dances are really fast, with lots of spins, jumps, and quick footwork.

Unfortunately, I cannot upload videos on this platform, so I cannot show you more details. Due to the fast movements, the photos are not great either. But I still wanted to give you a glimpse of the colorful handmade costumes and the richness of colors and imagination. By the way, men also embroider their costumes themselves, usually with thousands of small, colorful beads.

This weekend, we will be going from the Indians to the Cowboys 🤠 as we will be heading to Calgary for the Stampede, a huge rodeo. More about that next week. As for Edmonton, we have nothing to report, as the city is just a shopping district and doesn't have much to offer. We watched all the World Cup games and didn't miss anything here.