Dance to the heartbeat of the drum

Everyone is welcome to the First Peoples' House annual Round Dance, a traditional ceremony to celebrate life, healing and community — and to dance!

Shana Dion

Shana Dion is assistant dean of First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in the Office of the Dean of Students.

tân’si (Cree) ~ edlánet’é (Chipewyan) ~ dahneh Dha’ (Dene) ~ nezu dágóts’e (South Slavey) ~ masì (Dogrib) ~ Ah (Inuit) ~ oki (Blackfoot) ~ aaniin (Ojibwe) ~ aba washded (Stoney) ~ tawnshi (Mechif) ~ wa-é ák-wé (Tlingit)

Have you ever been to the First Peoples’ House annual Round Dance? 

First Peoples’ House has been organizing the Round Dance ceremony on campus for 16 years. It is a sacred place of learning, knowing and coming together. It is a time to gather in a different way on campus.

I hope you can come out on Saturday, Feb. 1 to dance with us. Join us in a circle, hold hands and participate in this traditional ceremony to celebrate life. It’s a gathering of many nations from here and far. Everyone is welcome, so bring your family and friends, young and old.

Round dancing is nâtawihowin (a healing medicine) for many of us in Cree territory. The Elders say that people who have passed on come to dance with us at the round dance; in that respect, our relatives are always here with us. 

Round dance season is also a time of reflection. I hope that you can be still just for a moment and sit with me while you enjoy your maskihkîwâpoy (tea), pihkahtêwâpoy (coffee) or nipiy (water) to receive what I want to share with you today. I thank you in advance for your time.

It is the Cree in me to share a story. Keep in mind it’s coming from a middle-aged nehiyaw iskwew (Cree woman) who has learned many lessons in life.

In 2018, after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, I wrote a piece about sâkihitowin (love) as an act of courage, a healing force and an act of Reconciliation. I still stand by this yet I also know love doesn’t thrive in isolation. It truly becomes most powerful in the moments when it’s most needed — during hardship, pain or uncertainty. In those times of vulnerability, the depth of connection and care really shines. This is where love thrives.

First, know that simplicity comes too late in life, so please try to get there expeditiously. Valuing small yet precious moments is critical for the time you have on this place called askiy (earth). So, I pray you learn that more briskly.
We learn too late that quality outshines quantity when it comes to the people in your life. I’m sorry.
Please be careful with your heart for it is so fragile. Not everyone is meant to hold it or understand its fragility. It’s only meant for a treasured few. Those treasured few align deeply within those treasured moments.
Life, just as time, is so fragile and unknown. 
Try to be still with your soul for it’s going to shatter once in a while with really huge goodbyes to the treasured ones in your life. 
Know that your soul will never fully be restored as there is always another goodbye harder than the one before. 
Who you were before the goodbye is not who you will be after: it changes pieces of you. In this moment, it’s realizing you have experienced something extraordinary: a reciprocal love.
Yet, I know you will survive. You will glow again. 
What I know is that the last goodbye is far harder from all of the others until you are someone's last goodbye. This is where you become someone’s hardest goodbye.

I never want to leave yet before I do I hope that we get to;
Run with the wind.
Dance with the drum.
Love with no end.
Run into the hills.
Smile with the sun.
Cry with the rain.
Hike in the desert. 
Sing to the wind.
Laugh to no end.
Be still with the sun.
Walk a million miles. 
Cry till we laugh.
Dance in the rain.
Make small talk — big talk — long talk — fun talk.
Sit with tea in utter awkward silence. Tea makes the world slow down. I like that. 
Tell each other we love one another to no end — unapologetically. 
Laugh until tears flow from down our cheeks onto our laps.
Greet each other with a hug like it is our last time together and like the first time we met. It's a teaching.
Those treasured few friendships and heartships are what matter the most. Remember that. 
This time of year reminds me of the family, friendships and heartships that I have had to say goodbye to on my journey. Yet what I know is that they will join me in that scared circle at the Round Dance and we will reunite and dance together again to the heartbeat of the drum — all night long. 

First Peoples’ House is so full of love and gratitude for the many allyships and friendships across campus who make this night come together in a meaningful way. This is a time when we all gather and our lives intersect in ways that many may not see in the moment, but I hope they feel. 

The Cree side of me, of what I hold sacred, are the Elders, Traditional Knowledge Keepers, Drum carriers, ribbon skirt creators, volunteers and the beautiful staff at First Peoples’ House who have walked alongside me all these years, who are the heart piece of it all and make everything come to life for that night. I want my people, the First People, and for all that come in allyship, in friendship and heartship (like friendship but a bit deeper than that) to feel the love in the room. I want everyone to know all of these little things make up the bigger pieces. All of it matters because that is what makes this night special. 

So, I thought it would be fitting this year to share reflections on the Round Dance from friendships that have turned into heartships on campus, in the hope that it will create a welcome for you to join us this year. 

"Although I have been to round dances in the past in other venues, it was a very different experience attending the round dance at the U of A. First, I loved the atmosphere where everyone was welcome. There was constant energy flowing throughout the evening with an inspiring level of connectedness and community as we held hands dancing to the beat of the drums. I loved it and was very proud that the U of A was able to be part of it." 

"I was nervous to go to my first round dance as I didn't know what to expect or whether or not I should even be there. All my fears went away as soon as I arrived. I have never encountered a more welcoming community event. It was easy to participate and to meet people. It has now become an annual "must do" event in our household that my family looks forward to each year. I guarantee if you come it will touch your heart and open your mind in ways you can't imagine. At a time when we could all use connection, Round Dance is the place to be!"

“The round dance is one of the highlights of my U of A year. I always look forward to that wintry evening, putting on my ribbon skirt lovingly made for me by a friend, joining the circle, being carried by the drums, feeling part of that community energy. The joy and energy in that room is incredible — the room is jam-packed full of circling dancers. And everyone is so welcoming. So many hugs and jokes!” 

“I'm not sure I would have ever gone to a round dance if it weren't for the FPH Round Dance which I learned about through work and colleagues. I was a bit nervous as someone who is not First Nations, Métis or Inuit and didn't know much about round dances, but I knew the event was open to everyone. I brought my young kids and we had a great time dancing and chatting with family, friends, colleagues and students. In my 20+ years as a student then staff at the university, it's the only event where I felt like anyone and everyone was welcome. We're all looking forward to the event this year.”

“I always enjoyed my participation in the January Round Dance. The atmosphere was very family-friendly. I felt comfortable as a participant even though I had little round dance experience. It was fun taking in all of the music and joyful atmosphere.” 

“Attending the First Peoples’ House Annual Round Dance has become a tradition for my family. The environment is welcoming and inclusive and my kids talk about it for weeks after we attend. This is an event where a room full of strangers all of a sudden become friends, and I think we can all use a little more of that healing kind of energy.” 

This is for you: my sissy, dad, all my aunties and uncles, cousins and friends that have now moved on to the spirit world. I can't wait to dance with you all again.

If you're reading this, I hope you can come out on Saturday, Feb. 1 to dance with me. 

Ekosi.


Shana Dion is assistant dean of First Nations, Metis and Inuit students in the Office of the Dean of Students at the University of Alberta.

About Shana

tānisi nitotemtik. shana dion, nitisiyihkâson. nêhiyaw iskwêwak. kehewin cree nation niya ohci. Māka niwīkin amiskwaciwâskahikan. nohtawiy, George Dion, nikâwiy Arlene Dion ekwa nikosis Delton.
It is important that I introduce myself in Cree because it grounds me in who I am, where I come from and who I am accountable to. As assistant dean, First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in the Office of the Dean of Students, I am dedicated to supporting, guiding and delivering holistic support for First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners. I hope to leave behind a legacy that lets FNMI students know that I loved them in advance.

As each of us moves through our journey at the U of A, I hope you lead with courage, humility, kindness, openness, respect and truly with love.