The Edmonton 2 Spirit Society is hosting its first standalone powwow at Borden Park on June 28 to shine a spotlight on two-spirit people and what makes them who they are.
"It is quite rare to have opportunities to be together and to showcase, as two-spirit people, because a lot of the time, we are not accepted in the powwow circle," Lena Green, the interim executive director and financial controller for E2S, told Taproot.
The circle is a sacred, central part of powwows, which are events filled with performances, storytelling, and Indigenous cultural celebrations. They are family friendly and have a specific etiquette.
The format and programming of a powwow vary based on who runs and participates in them, but Green said they often include gendered dance categories that don't make all feel welcome.
"We aren't allowed to show up as we are," Green, who is Métis, said. "People want us to be able to dance in the category they see that we belong in, not the ones that we feel that we belong in. So, this is really important for not just two-spirit people, but everybody, to be able to be accepted into the circle."
The E2S powwow will have several dance categories that have cash prizes. It will be co-emceed by burlesque artist Autumn EagleSpeaker, a member of the Kainai First Nation, and drag performer Ladonna Cree, whose profile describes herself as a two-spirit nehiyaw from Montreal Lake First Nation, part of Treaty Six.
Green said the two bring a mix of traditional and outside-the-box energy for guests. The powwow will also feature 20 artisan vendors and six food vendors. It will begin with a private ceremony at 10am before general entry at noon.
This is the first standalone two-spirit powwow that E2S has hosted, but the non-profit has held one as part of other festivals for the last three years, often at Churchill Square. That the two-spirit powwow is the main attraction, not a piece of a greater whole, matters to Green and the people her organization serves, she said.
"We thought that it was really important that we take it on ourselves … and we thought that it really deserved its own day, its own festival, its own meaning," she said." She added that moving the event from Churchill Square to Borden Park is better for dancers, who can strut their stuff more comfortably on grass than cement.
A crowd gathers at a two-spirit powwow by Edmonton 2 Spirit Society at Churchill Square during the Edmonton Drag Festival in 2024. On June 28, E2S will present a two-spirit powwow without a partner for the first time at Borden Park. (Supplied)
Aside from the event, E2S is working on a province-wide initiative to build safer spaces for two-spirit folks. "We know with what we have in a political environment today that two-spirit people are not feeling safe," Green said.
Green and E2S are also working on the Winter Count Project, where community members will use a combination of pictograms, syllabics, and tanned hides to tell stories.
And E2S has broken ground on three buildings that make up its supportive housing development, which received $6.84 million from the federal government in October. Green said the first of the three buildings should open in September and the others shortly after that.
As for the powwow, more performers and event participants are listed on the event page. The event falls during the overlapping Pride and National Indigenous People's History Month.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Kainai First Nation.