Indigenous cultures: so much to celebrate

A word from FGM – June 2023

In many Indigenous communities across North America, the onset of summer means that pow-wow season is here. Kahnawá:ke’s pow-wow, for example, will be held at the beginning of July. For participating communities, these are special moments for meeting and sharing, recalling their histories and honoring their ancestors and traditions. For non-Indigenous individuals, this is a time for learning and rapprochement.

We naturally associate these festive events with traditional chants, dancing and crafts. These art forms are indeed particularly important to Indigenous cultures; as they allow communities to preserve a connection with the past, while also fully living in the present moment and looking towards the future.

Rooted in ancestral traditions that sometimes date back thousands of years, Indigenous cultural practices can teach us a lot. For instance, about the role of nature in our lives, the ties that bind different generations and the importance of belonging to a territory. These cultural manifestations can thus, through their great diversity but also through their unique perspective, bring us a way of viewing the world that is essential.

An immense cultural wealth

Indigenous cultural products are also indispensable to the survival and the transmission of Indigenous languages. All of them would be disappearing if it not for the efforts, the creativity and the talent of so many elders and artists from all nations and artistic disciplines. These cultural works deserve to be given their due and made more accessible, both within and outside of Indigenous communities.

As you will see from the following posts, Indigenous artists can remember their roots while producing work that is resolutely modern. They use all available means to transmit their messages, their values and their identities. The Foundation of Greater Montréal will also be there to help these artists soar. Moreover, through its Fund to Support Indigenous Initiatives and other means of intervention, it will continue to support equity and the well-being of the area’s Indigenous communities.

So, whether it be at a pow-wow happening near you, or during some other outing or moment of cultural discovery, why not take some time to better appreciate the richness of Indigenous Peoples’ traditions and their vibrant culture? Whatever discoveries you wind up making, I wish you, on behalf of the entire FGM team, a terrific summer!

Photo credit : Native Montreal, Iorahkote summer camp.

Karel Mayrand
President and CEO
Foundation of Greater Montréal