CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As a young child, I remember going with my family to powwows and feeling mesmerized by the dancers. The songs. The sounds of jingling coming from dancers’ regalia.
The skill, reverence and athleticism needed to participate in the hours-long gathering. The sense of community. The confluence of all this makes for a unique, uplifting and inspiring experience.
Although I had never learned how to dance, myself — something I lament now as an adult — I knew I was witnessing something special. I still get that feeling at powwows today. Half of my family tree includes ancestors who are Indigenous to the Great Lakes region.
I am half-Anishinaabe, specifically Ottawa. Growing up in Cleveland, my father made it a point for us to stay connected to our Nativeness, although we were hundreds of miles from our ancestral homelands in Western Michigan. Part of that connection was cultivated by staying active as part of the local Native community, here in Cleveland.
That’s why I was delighted to hear the BorderLight Theatre Festival will welcome a highly acclaimed dance troupe, Indigenous Enterprise , to Cleveland. The BorderLight Theatre Festival is taking place now through July 27 in venues throughout downtown Cleveland and is free of charge. The festival is marking its fifth year with dozens of shows, a curated selection of acclaimed international touring productions and new work created by Cleveland organizations in partnership with international artists, according.