Hand games aim to teach culture and build community
A game played long ago is being revived in communities who lost it.
The Sakicawasihk powwow in North Battleford featured hand games for the first time this year, something Bill Wapass of Thunderchild First Nation said is important to Aboriginal culture.
“The game has been played (at Thunderchild) for as long as we can remember and a lot of the surrounding communities lost it, but it’s starting to come back now,” he said. “The people in our area and community and neighbouring reserves are all starting to know what the game is and what it’s about.”
Hand games are played in teams, with eleven sticks, two marked bones and two un-marked ones. Players hold one of each bone in their hand and the aim is to pick the un-marked bone. If a player choses incorrectly, they have to give-up a stick. The aim is to win all eleven sticks.