Getting Together and Having Fun

By Evan Lejoure

Treaty 4 was a successful powwow. I notice there was not that much fights and that’s good because Treaty 4 is about getting together and having fun. Not fighting. But anyways the food there was yummy, really yummy! J I wish I can go back and eat more but I can’t! I have to wait till next year. It was fun and I saw a lot of my friends, plus I made new friends. I checked out everything. The teepees, the dancing, the smell of Treaty 4, the fresh air. I saw some elders! And I was trying to snag some girls but they were turning me down.  Just kidding, but anyways, I helped some people, I sold bannock and they gave me 5 bucks, aha for all that hard work too L Like I said, it was FUN! I never had this fun in years; its different now, well not that different. Just a little bit! But there were clothes there and it looked nice! My days there were amazing. I hope I’ll go next year because at the end of this year, I might move L I recommend other people going there!

Through the Eyes of a Dancer

 

By Katie Boucher

I have some friends who are dancers. Sometimes we talk about dancing and they have told me how it feels. This is how I imagine it would feel if I was out there dancing.

I stand in the arbour. Butterflies are in my stomach and I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. This isn’t my first time dancing but I know that I could never get used to this fluttery feeling. I hear the drums throbbing in my ears. The strike of the drum so loud, that I can even feel it in my bones. The sun shines on my face and I close my eyes. I take a deep breath and smell the scent of sweet grass in the distance. The drums beat faster and I know that it’s almost my time. I reopen my eyes and they adjust to the bright beams of the sun. My stomach growls, making me instantly regret not eating. But how can I with all these butterflies?  I look down at my regalia. It’s so beautiful and precious. Each sequin and bead sewn with absolute care and love from my Kokum. I look up and see her and smile. She smiles back and a warm, calming feeling goes through my entire body. All the butterflies die and I’m ready to begin. Ready to work my hardest and hopefully that hard work will pay off. And maybe, just maybe I’ll win something. The drums are starting to slow down and I know it’s my time.

Something New But Something Old

by Zoe Blondeau

I have been going to treaty four now for a while, and I have something new to look at each year. Like this year, there was a career fair tent; my favourite booth there would have had to be, First Nations University; one, because I knew a couple people from that booth, and it was great to see them again.

My other favourite part this year would have to be watching the dancers seeing them get ready with all their stuff, and getting prepared to dance. Climbing the hill was great too because my friend and I thought that it would be fun to go exploring, down the other side of the hill, which caused a few falls, but was worth it.

On Tuesday morning I was dressing up as Bert the Fox, which was pretty fun, but very hot in there. But one of the things that was kind of funny, but sad, was that I was walking around as the fox and saw these two little girls, so I went up to say hello, and the one little girl screamed and ran away, and the other girl started to cry, so that was my experience as Bert the Fox.

Then on Wednesday we were there for just about the whole day and it was very cold that day, but we went anyways. I really enjoyed eating the fries from Minnie’s; they are well known for their food each year they are there for treaty four.

Many of the children that go to Treaty Four really enjoy all the activities in the teepees; there is a variety of different actives in each teepee; for example, the SGI Roll Over Car activity or the face painting, or even the bannock on a stick. Each child had something to do.   

Like I said before I have been going to Treaty Four for a while, and one thing that nobody will ever forget about Treaty Four is, Minnie’s food truck, that is the one thing people look forward to every year.

Overall, It Was a Good Day

By Andrew Flett

At Treaty Four it was very interesting because  I saw lots of different things like food stations,  buses, kids from Cupar and Southey, lots of young  city kids. I saw many trucks, like Ford Powerstrokes, Dodge Cummins, and lots of gas cars and gas Chevy’s. I saw lots of people who buy bales from   us and I saw lots of the town’s history. The guy I interviewed was a friend of  my dad and he goes to the winter festival so my grandpa knows him too. I saw the ski hill and all the trees; leaves are falling off already. I saw lots of different people, lots of tepees and lots of garbage, and it was a crappy day till I left because of the weather, but the most interesting thing of the day was that a friend of my dad was there. There were lots of elders.  there was only one tepee that was heated, but we were not allowed in it. The crappiest part of the day was that there were no horses to interview, but it worked out good, and I saw lots and smelled lots and heard lots that day. I heard music the most. I smelled lots of meat, and I think that they should get more organized, and the kids should not be allowed to run around and bigger fire. But overall, it was a good day.

My First Time at Treaty 4

Dear Manly Diary,

          This was my first time at Treaty 4 Gathering and I’ve got to say, I kind of want to come back next year. It was a wonderful experience and next year I’m sure will be tons more fun. I interviewed one of the dancers and he said he dances mainly for the money, which intrigued me, so I questioned further. He said that he usually gets a couple hundred at each pow wow if he dances at his best. I never thought of pow wows that way, a “job”. Probably you can make a killing at pow wows if you dance a lot and are good at it. It’d be interesting to hear what the cooks at the pow wows make though. Maybe next year I’ll go and interview a cook on my own time to see how much they make. For my first time at Treaty 4 it was pretty refreshing coming from BC. Kamloopa is one of the bigger pow wows and coming to this pow wow kind of pales in comparison. Treaty 4 was still great though. I would recommend it for anyone else who wishes to partake in the activities offered at Treaty 4. There’s tons to do at T4!

Thanks for reading.

Seth Lafond

The Treaty 4 Family Reunion

By Breanne McCarron

          Wednesday, the 17^th was the first time I went to Treaty 4 and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Although I nearly froze to death, I learned way more than I thought I would have.

 Walking around with all kids from my class and Bert the Fox was really cool because it kept us warm and we got to see all the different things happening at the gathering. Some of the things going on at the gathering were the career fair, dances, singing, food trucks and tug o’ war, which -- by the way --  was really fun! 
 

I did not think I would fit in that well because I am not First Nations, but it was the complete opposite, I felt totally in place, part of their big familyJ. Some of my favorite things happening at the gathering were eating the french fries from Minnie’s Grill and the traditional dances; they had some little kids who looked about seven dancing for one song and it was seriously the cutest thing ever.

 I’ve never been to a powwow or anything like that so the dances were another first for me, and the regalia are so pretty and make the dances ten times better!

 As I said before it was utterly freezing that day and I just wore a sweater and pants so I was even colder. Some of the things that helped me keep from getting hypothermia were the yummy hot chocolate that tastes like chocolate pudding and the fire which was going all day for people who wanted to cook bannock on a stick.

After the whole day I learned that everybody should have gatherings like these, even if it’s just a family reunion at someone’s house; it really brings everyone together, well the food does, mostly.Everything was so inspiring, it really made me want to get my whole family together because Treaty 4 is like one huge family.

I Would Be Honoured to Go Back Another Year

By McKenzie McNaughton

We got on the bus and headed to Treaty 4; I remember the bus driver opened the doors at the tracks and looked then drove off; it was really confusing. Once we got there we walked around, and I met the person we were going to interview, Curtis Delorme. Curtis Delorme is my mom and dad’s friend; they grew up together in Fort Qu’Appelle. After we met Curtis, we walked around for a bit. We listened to the music that played. We also tried food such as bannock burgers, fries, hot chocolate, and cherry coke. It tasted amazing.

          Treaty 4 smelled so good; when we got there it smelled like fries and burgers it made me so hungry. Also, it was freezing cold. I had checked the weather network, and it had said it was supposed to be nice out, but no, it was freezing. I hugged the fox the whole time to stay warm. I also saw a bunch of people I knew such as Delvin and Cheryl Bitternose also known as Uncle Doc. Treaty 4 is beautiful. The tipis were very warm inside and had beautiful painting on the side. I would be honored to go back another year.