Jason Warick // Kaleidoscope: How a Ukrainian dance ignited a debate on cultural appropriation - Saskatoon - CBC News

27.11.17

Kaleidoscope: How a Ukrainian dance ignited a debate on cultural appropriation - Saskatoon - CBC News: Some have said it's never OK for Ukrainians to dance powwow. Pewapsconias, founder and CEO of Neeched Up Games, doesn't go that far — her point is that this particular performance was disrespectful to Indigenous people.  That August night at Folkfest, Pewapsconias and her sister had enjoyed the dances and food at other pavilions, and hoped to do the same at the Ukrainian.  When Kaleidoscope began, Pewapsconias, an active member of the Indigenous Poet's Society, said everything changed.  Pewapsconias noticed when a blanket containing flags of many immigrant nations was unfolded on stage, neither flag for Treaty Six nor the Métis Nation — the Indigenous jurisdictions on which the City of Saskatoon sits — was represented. The Indigenous dance costumes were partly plastic.  ​Pewapsconias noted that for decades, First Nations people were banned from dancing powwow and performing their spiritual ceremonies.