Latest news with #Sitansisk
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dancer proud to see son perform at 25th Sitansisk powwow
Standing at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Sitansisk powwow, Derek Barnaby recalled his first dance. Barnaby, who also goes by the last name Bouge, said he had a caveman look on his first dance, covered in red, black, yellow and white colours, wearing leather from his shoulders down to the ground. He said he has been dancing for more than three decades now. He said he and his wife were the first head dancers at the Sitansisk, also known as St. Mary's First Nation, powwow 25 years ago. Now their 20-year old son, who began dancing as a toddler, is a proud performer. "We really pushed our family into the traditions of dance, singing, culture, identity ... and we really helped push our kids to learn and respect who they are as Indigenous people," he said. Barnaby said his childhood was impacted by the restrictions of residential schools and colonization in some way or the other, so he chose a different life for his kids. "To see him out there dancing and celebrating without ever feeling like he's doing something shameful or wrong, man, it's been quite the experience, and I'm very proud of it as a father and as somebody who's a teacher of culture and dance," he said. He said the powwow is an event to feel what your heart says and dance without the fear of being judged. "If you do it from inside your heart, our elders will always say that's the best way," said Barnaby. Barnaby's son, Alasuinu Madahbee Bouge, said listening to his parents' experiences inspired him to compete and dance at powwows. "I knew I had the ability to do it and I had every resource that I could imagine … and finally had the courage," he said. "I wanted to be the best that I could be." He said his mind feels free and he gets lost in the art when he dances. Bouge says his generation is fortunate to be able to learn the culture from their parents and the next generation will be "blessed for sure." Chief Allan Polchies said hosting the powwow at the St. Mary's Old Reserve on the banks of the Wolastoq has sentimental value. "We honour the Wolastoq," he said. He said the St. Mary's powwow has grown from hundreds to thousands of attendees over the years. He said so many people "have come to embrace our beautiful culture."
CTV News
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Powwow season begins in N.B. this weekend
Sitansisk (St. Mary's) First Nation held its annual community powwow on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic) Powwow season officially begins in New Brunswick this weekend, with a big milestone on Sitansisk (St. Mary's) First Nation. Sitansisk's annual community powwow is marking 25 years, with a schedule of dancing and drumming over three days around the St. Mary's Old Reserve. 'We've actually grown our powwow grounds,' said coordinator Nicole Carty. 'It's really nice to see how big we've gotten over the years.' Friday night's schedule was capped off with fireworks, while Saturday afternoon's grand entry included more than 250 registered dancers in the powwow circle. 'It's a time to showcase, and a time to honour the land… honour the sky, and honour each other,' said Carty. Sitansisk is the first of 12 stops on New Brunswick 'powwow trail' between now and October, with everybody welcome. 'It's about unity,' said Sitansisk Chief Alan Polchies Jr. 'It's about coming together and knowing that our language, our culture is still here and still thriving.' Sitansisk (St. Mary's) First Nation Powwow Sitansisk (St. Mary's) First Nation held its annual community powwow on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic) New Brunswick's 2025 powwow schedule: June 14 - 15: Sitansisk (St. Mary's), St. Mary's Old Reserve July 5 - 6: Oinpegitjoig L'Noeigati (Pabineau), Flying Eagle Memorial Powwow Grounds July 12 - 13: Welamukotuk (Oromocto), Sir Douglas Hazen Park July 19 - 20: Natoaganeg (Eel Ground), Natoaganeg Powwow Grounds July 26 - 27: Neqotkuk (Tobique), Mudwaas Park July 26 - 27: Metepenagiag (Red Bank), Metepenagiag Heritage Park Aug. 16 - 17: Ugpi'ganjig (Eel River Bar), Aboriginal Heritage Garden Aug. 23 - 24: Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church), Esgenoôpetitj Powwow Grounds Aug. 30 - 31: Elsipogtog (Big Cove), Elsipogtog Powwow Grounds Sept. 6 - 7: Tjipogtotjg (Bouctouche), Bouctouche Powwow Grounds Sept. 13 - 14: Bilijk (Kingsclear), Bilijk Powwow Grounds Oct. 25 - 26: Menahqesk (Saint John), TD Station For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
10-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
10 new Indigenous patient navigators will help build trust, Horizon manager says
Social Sharing Horizon Health Network is hiring 10 new Indigenous patient navigators, bringing the network's total to 12. The network has seen the benefits of having people in this role since Indigenous patient navigators were hired for Fredericton and Miramichi hospitals in 2022, said Aaron Hatty, Horizon's regional manager of Indigenous health programming. "We have seen many positive outcomes from those relationships — seeing how patients feel supported, patients feel heard, less afraid," she said Tuesday. Hatty said the needs of Indigenous people and how they access the health care system might not be familiar to health care providers. This navigation is one part of an Indigenous navigator's role, she said. Another part is "discharge planning," she said, and involves knowing whom to call for community health nurses and mental wellness programming. The person in the navigator's role also makes sure patients have access to culturally safe care, including access to sacred medicines and smudging. Patients could get help filing official complaints as well, if necessary. Hatty, from Sitansisk, or St. Mary's First Nation, said she graduated 20 years ago and started out as a nurse in a small First Nations community. Being fresh out of university at the time and having worked in hospitals, she noticed a huge difference, especially in how Indigenous patients were treated when it came to discharge planning and transitions in care. Hatty said systemic racism is still real within health care as a whole. "Systemic racism does not necessarily, you know, translate into somebody intentionally deciding to be mean to somebody because of their different race," she said. "It even involves not having an understanding of these different complex systems or how, you know, things might be functioning for this particular person based on them being Indigenous or from an Indigenous community." Two of the new Indigenous patient navigators will be assigned to the Moncton Hospital and the Saint John Regional Hospital, while the remaining eight will be divided among the addiction and mental health and primary care teams. Hatty said one of the biggest challenges that Indigenous people might face in the health care system is about trust. She thinks these additional patient navigators will help with that. "We're not that far away from the residential school system, we're not that far away from Indian hospital systems, we're not that far away from expecting to be treated poorly automatically," Hatty said. "Knowing that you have that trusted person, or you have somebody that even looks like you, or you know somebody is going to understand you, can make a huge difference in terms of when you decide to access care [and] whether or not you stay and receive services."
