The Ranch Ehrlo Powwow club has been running for every week during the school year for the past 20 years.  It is one of the longest most successful running clubs the Ranch Ehrlo Society has to offer.

Coordinators
Hayley Maurer was one of the first Powwow Club coordinators and she helped establish and lay the foundation for its success. After Hayley’s 10 years as Powwow Club coordinator she handed the Powwow Club  off to her assistant coordinator Laura Logan who built on the foundation Hayley laid. Laura too spent a long time as Powwow Coordinator and ran the club successfully for almost 10 years. After nearly 10 years of running the club she felt it was her time to move on. Laura found a replacement Powwow coordinator in Nick Crighton and he has been trying keep the Powwow club running at the same level as the previous coordinators before him.

Nick began the Powwow club this year with brand new Powwow instructors and a new assistant coordinator in Yaya Siggins. All the Powwow Club staff have worked hard this year to ensure the continued success of the club.

Benefits of dancing
Powwow singing and dancing provides an opportunity for many of the youth to learn and practice their First Nations customs and traditions. Along with teaching traditional dancing it teaches respect and humility. Additionally, Powwow Dancing is physically demanding so it helps not only build self confidence and self esteem it improves stamina and makes you physically fit. Powwow dancing has given many of the youth an opportunity to learn their traditions, make healthy choices and learn new skills. The Powwow club practices every Thursday night from 7 -8:30 p.m. at the Liski Gym, Schaller School at the Pilot Butte campus. The Powwow club also performs at many events in Regina such as the Spring Free from Racism event, career fairs and school assemblies.

Performances
June was a busy month for the Powwow club with three performances , First at the Wascana Rehabilitation Centre on Tuesday June 14^th and then at the University of Regina on Tuesday June 21^st to celebrate National Aboriginal Day. The youth work very hard during Powwow practice and they were especially excited for their last powwow performance, showcasing their dancing and singing skills to all Ranch Ehrlo youth and staff at the Conexus Arts Centre for the Ranch Ehrlo Society Awards Night.

Powwow will start up again in September it runs from September – June (10 months) and follows the school year schedule. All youth are welcome to join the club, where they will have the opportunity to dance, sing and perform in the many Powwow categories. For more information contact Nick Crighton at nick.crighton@ranchehrlo.ca  or call Nick at 781-1828.

Guest blogger Nick Crighton is the Cultural Coordinator at the Ranch Ehrlo Society.