Calgary Stampede Powwow returns with a bang

The Calgary Stampede Powwow is back and it's bigger and better than before, organizers say.

The event is being held at the Scotiabank Saddledome for the second year in a row and includes a plethora of performances from Indigenous participants.

Expect energetic competitive dancing coupled with singing and drumming at the two-day event that will involve more than 1,000 performers competing for cash prizes and the coveted top spot in various categories. 

Organizing the powwow on such a grand scale is a dream come true for Cheryl Crowchief, the Stampede's powwow co-ordinator.

"The culture that I come from being First Nation is so rich, so vibrant, so informative and so rooted in history. We keep our culture alive through powwow, through storytelling, through our kids," Crowchief said.

"It's a contest, a friendly contest, but it's still a contest. Everybody loves a good contest." 

This event has long been an aspiration for Crowchief, who wanted to fundraise and organize a similar event nearly 10 years ago with her husband.

"[We wanted to] create a powwow of this magnitude and the Stampede just was on the same page as us and said this is what we want to do," she said. 

"I want people to come and visit our territory, to visit our people, to visit our tribes and see how welcoming, inviting [the event is] and honestly, come to the greatest outdoor show on earth." 

This year's powwow has participants from Canada and the U.S., including states as far-flung as New Mexico and Arizona.

The event has been planned on a much grander scale this year and includes better production, more lighting and drones, according to Colleen Caron, operations production manager for the Stampede Powwow.

"Currently, right now we're in production for two days, six hours a day. We have an opportunity to make it a three- or four- or five-day event depending on the interest of the competitors," she said. "Due to its popularity, I can see it growing in the future, for sure."

'I started dancing when I was two'

Many participants at the powwow are highly experienced and have been dancing for years. 

For instance, one of the competitors, Ralph Large, from Saddle Lake Cree Nation, gravitated toward dancing as a child.

"I started dancing when I was two years old — when as soon as I could walk, basically," he said.

Everyone gets a chance to showcase their dancing skills at the Stampede Powwow, according to Crowchief. 

As a member of the Pretty Youngman family and a teepee holder at Elbow River Camp, she makes it a point to co-ordinate with all the performers and ensure they're represented in the best way possible.

"We all work together and make sure that everybody gets a turn to dance," she said. "Everybody gets to showcase their own style, their own regalia, and to be proud of who they are as First Nations people."

What's next? Well, the goal is to become even bigger and host powwows on a grander scale, Crowchief said.

"My goal is to be the biggest powwow in Canada, the world," she said.

"Thankfully, Stampede has put some trust into me. The camp has put some trust into me. Treaty 7 has put some trust into me."

The powwow took place on July 12 and 13 and was free to attend with Stampede admission tickets.