Indigenous student trying to revive powwow at University of Calgary

An Indigenous student at the University of Calgary is trying to resurrect a powwow at the institution following a controversial talk about residential schools that ended in a student pouring water on one of the speakers.

“It’s just really important to bring some more visibility to Indigenous culture to the university,” said Ashley Clearsky, a fourth-year bachelor of science student. “When you step on campus and you’re pursuing your education, your higher education, you shouldn’t have to leave your culture at the door.”

The university stopped hosting the powwow — where people gather to dance, sing and honour their heritage — after the pandemic in 2020.

Clearsky began planning the event early this year after previous attempts failed, partly due to the graduation of many members of an Indigenous student club. She has since formed a separate club that operates independently from the student union.

“This year we have a much stronger ability to do the powwow,” Clearsky said, thanks to newer connections with drum groups and Indigenous elders across the region.

Her plans also received a push after a controversy surrounding a Sept. 29 campus debate that asked whether residential schools should be considered genocide.

“I felt like people are going to get the wrong idea about Indigenous people, and I feel like the university should be a more welcoming space to Indigenous students,” Clearsky said.

The debate, organized by Canadian Students for Free Speech the day before the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, featured retired U of C political science professor Tom Flanagan and Rebel News journalist Drea Humphrey.

Treatment of Indigenous students in residential schools was deemed a cultural genocide in 2015 by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, which was prohibited from using the singular word genocide for legal reasons. Seven years later, the House of Commons unanimously passed a non-binding motion that recognized the Indian Residential School system as a genocide.

Students protested hosting the debate on the university’s premises, while the institution wrote that it encourages civil discourse and has policies to support those conversations, but it is not its role to take a stance.

However, Flanagan criticized the university for failing to denounce the student who poured water on Humphrey, an act that could be qualified as assault.

“The university hasn’t condemned the mob action, which disrupted our event. So they’re taking a very one-sided approach . . . It really amounts to the university taking a political position, which they’re not supposed to do.”

Clearsky said that while the student went too far by pouring water on Humphrey, she hopes the act doesn’t harm the individual’s academic future. Her aim, she said, is to illustrate the beauty of her culture, “rather than making it seem like Indigenous people are lying about residential schools.”

She hopes the powwow will be held at the end of March and is looking for sponsors to help with the costs for the event.

A spokesperson for the University of Calgary said they encourage Clearsky to contact UCalgary’s Conference and Event Services team to inquire about booking space on campus.

“We just had the meeting on Oct. 4, where we reactivated the group, and now it’s just a matter of reaching out to community partners and letting them know our plans,” Clearsky said.

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