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Hamilton Spectator

Experience Indigenous culture at this 2-day festival in Ontario — Here's how to get tickets and score a free spot on a powwow bus tour

Get a chance to experience Indigenous cultural heritage by watching Indigenous artists, joining a powwow bus tour, discovering First Nation crafts and trying Indigenous cuisine during a two-day cultural event in Windsor-Essex. Caldwell First Nation will be holding its first Competition Powwow from Aug. 9 to 10 at Caldwell First Nation Reserve, located along Mersea Road 1, in Leamington, Ontario. The two-day cultural event will highlight Indigenous dancers, singers, drummers, cuisine and crafts from across Canada and the U.S. 'The powwow allows us to join with other First Nations from across Canada and the United States to share in this great gathering and exciting cultural experience,' the organizers said on the event's page. 'This is more than just a celebration — it's a high-energy, competitive powwow featuring some of the finest dancers and singers in North America.' Over $50,000 in prizes will be given to the best artists who will compete in different categories. There will be plenty of on-site food vendors offering Indigenous cuisines and local favourites as well as local artisans and craft vendors who will offer handmade jewelry and crafts, the organizers shared in a post announcing the event. Tickets to the event are $10 per person. It's free for children under eight years old and people over 60. Caldwell First Nation along with the Windsor Port Authority and Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, will be offering 105 people a free bus tour on the first and second day of the event. 'The tour route will take riders along the Windsor-Essex Shoreline to highlight many hidden and ancient Indigenous sites en route to the Caldwell First Nation Reserve in Leamington,' the organizers shared in a release announcing the tour. The region's shoreline along the Detroit River and Lake Erie is home to many historically significant Indigenous sites. Before European settlers arrived in the region, the land along the Detroit River was known as Wawiiatanong and was home to Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron (Neutral), and Huron (Wyandot) peoples, according to information from the City of Windsor. The tour route will take riders along the Windsor-Essex Shoreline to highlight many hidden and ancient indigenous sites. The tour will pick up passengers from Destination Ontario — Ontario Travel Information Services at 110 Park St. E. in Windsor. The tour will explore Indigenous sites, before heading to Caldwell First Nation Reserve in Leamington for the event. Reservations for the bus tour will be open soon and guests can book a slot on their site . There's free parking on-site for those who bring their own car and won't join the bus tour. Powwow bus tour schedule. The Caldwell First Nation also known as the Chippewas of Point Pelee and Pelee Island is part of the Anishinaabe people and a proud member of the Three Fires Confederacy — Potawatomi, Odawa, and Ojibwa, according to information on the Caldwell Powwow site. The CFN has lived on the lands surrounding Point Pelee in Windsor-Essex way before the European settlers arrived. The CFN fought as allies of the British during the war of 1812 and were promised land in return. 'Despite their service, they were forcibly removed from their traditional lands in the 1920s and spent decades without a recognized land base.' The Nation's long-standing land claim was finally settled in 2010 and in November 2020 a 200-acre parcel at Bevel Line Road and Seacliff Drive in Leamington was designated as Reserve Land. After a 230-year long fight the Caldwell First Nation returned home to their ancestral land.