On the Powwow Trail: the Jingle Dress
The jingle dress dance is an important part of any powwow, competition or traditional.
The bright colours and, sometimes, hundreds of bell shaped ‘jingles’ make up a dress dedicated to a lively dance. But more than a pretty garment, the jingle dress and its corresponding moves was first renowned for its healing powers.
Brandy and Cara Morin are both jingle dress dancers from Big River First Nation competing at the Witchekan Lake competition powwow this week. According to the sisters, Brandy just started dancing this summer while Cara returned to dancing after a five year break.
“I felt the need to dance. I was doing some things and I didn’t like where I was going, so I started dancing,” Brandy said.