Curve Lake First Nation has one of the only First Nation owned and operated Cultural Centres in Ontario. The Cultural Centre is open year-round and offers various collections and exhibits, educational and cultural sensitivity workshops, and archiving. Cultural Centre staff work closely with the Elders Advisory Committee to ensure traditions, ceremonies and language continue to be passed down from generation to generation.
For more information on the Cultural Centre, including activities and operating hours, please visit www.curvelakeculturalcentre.ca.
Curve Lake Pow Wow
At Pow Wows we gather in a circle. In a circle, no one is higher than anyone else, everyone is equal. Our dancers move in a circle, searching the ground for the footprints of our ancestors in order to follow their ways. The drum beats out the solemn rhythm of all creation. It is the sound we remember from before we were born. It is the rhythm of our mothers’ heartbeat. The drums summon up a memory that is common to us all. Pow Wow means gathering or celebration.
Traditionally, families had to scatter far and wide to be able to find enough game to feed themselves throughout the long and harsh Canadian winter. The Pow Wow took place each year when families and friends were reunited to dance, drum, feast, and give thanks to the Creator. Each community had its own time for gathering – Spring, Summer, Winter, or Fall. At Curve Lake we still hold an annual Pow Wow, bringing together Natives and non-Natives, to honour our ancestors and uphold this sacred tradition. Every year, the end of the summer brings with it the annual Curve Lake Pow Wow.
This celebration consists of two days of dancing, contests, and presentations, to re-establish old friendships and meet new people, with many vendors and performers in attendance. As every year, all of our neighbours from the surrounding towns are welcome to join us in most of the festivities. Come join us and enjoy traditional foods, dances, songs, and stories!
Never been to a Pow Wow?
Pow Wow Tips
- During Grand Entry, everyone stands as the Eagle Staff, the flags and the dancers enter. The Master of Ceremonies will announce other events that require standing as a gesture of respect
- Consider the privacy of the participants. Ask permission before you photograph or record people. This includes the spectators and craftspeople as well as the dancers and singers
- Certain dances and ceremonies are not to be recorded or photographed. The Master of Ceremonies will announce when such activities are not allowed
- Do not touch the dancers’ regalia. These have special meanings and the handmade regalia, which can cost thousands of dollars, are cherished and often made by a respected family members
- Feel free to join in the intertribal dancing. The Master of Ceremonies will announce these dances and invite all to join
- No drugs or alcohol are allowed at Pow Wows
- Pets are not permitted on the Pow Wow grounds
- Remember to bring your lawn chairs, sun block and a good appetite.
See you there!
Kinomaage-Waapkong (Petroglyphs)
Kinomaage-Waapkong is a sacred teaching site for our people, it has been utilized for generations of Anishinabeg and remains to be an active sacred site for our people, it is also known internationally by Indigenous groups such as far as Columbia South America who frequently visit the sacred site. When you visit the Kinomaage-Waapkong, you will be greeted by a Curve Lake First Nation member at the visitor centre to the site.
Petroglyphs Provincial Park Address:
2249 Northery’s Bay Road
Woodview, Ontario K0L 3E0
Phone: 705-877-2552
