The Unity Pow-wow

By Jean Victoria Norloch

“We are here to dance to give praise for that beautiful gift of life; to dance to that beautiful big drum that was given to us by the Creator, to dance to the songs that were passed on for us to listen to and to dance to.  The song that moves our heart, the heartbeat of our nation, that heart beat that makes our blood flow in our body that brings that spirit and body together” ~Chris Pheasant

And dance they did….

(for the full article and multimedia experience, click here:  OM-Times July 2010 Edition)

They called it Unity to honor a bringing together of all races, all peoples in celebration of love.  Love for ourselves, love for each other and love always for out Mother Earth and all her children, human and animal alike. When people think Powwow they think Native gathering; they think drums and harmonic vocalization, they think dancing.  What they do not often think to see however is a gathering of peoples representing every nation uniting their energy towards the healing of our planet.  Perhaps they should.

It was meant to kick off the G8 summit on a positive note.  A day to gather in prayer that our worlds leaders would follow the inner guidance of their hearts and put the welfare of our Earth and Her people before the welfare of those in charge of big business.  It was meant to celebrate the summer solstice, the birth of the light of day after a long winters nap.  It was meant to celebrate National Aboriginal Day.  All these things and more it was meant to and did accomplish.

Chris Pheasant, MC for the event told the crowd that in the hearts of the First Nations People, every day is their day, but as the government had only given them one, they would take.  It was one of the many jokes that were passed on to listeners in his joyfully energetic and enthusiastic commentary that accompanied the afternoon’s events.

The Powwow was a collaborative effort by the Chippewa of Rama and the Wasauksing First Nations communities supported by the town of Huntsville, the host city to the 2010  G8 summit.   Although there was much humor and joy to be found throughout the day it was very clear from the moment the sun rose how extremely serious they were about spreading their message of oneness and peace.

5:30 a.m. comes early for most and one might think it would discourage participation yet there gathered over 150 men, woman and children in a sacred Sunrise Ceremony to pay homage to our Creator and His creation.  A joining of purpose and intent, side by side they stood or sat sharing water in honor of our Mothers life blood, sharing prayers for peace, unity and the restored health and balance of our world.