Vote for us and for our aboriginal communities

I’m not even going to attempt to hide the fact that this is a blatant plug for our Pepsi Refresh Project Grant application.

For those few who I haven’t actually emailed, stalked, or tweeted, the latest ACE Communities news is that we are one of the ideas vying for $100,000 of Pepsi’s cash. Our goal: organizing a music and dance tour in Albertan Aboriginal communities. This latest grant race is notable as it is you, the voting public, who will ultimately decide whose project wins.

So hey! If you want to vote and/or spread the word here is the link: http://ab.yace.ca/artstour. See… what did I say…a blatant plug.

I was thinking a little bit today, as I continued to roll out my social media campaign, about what the point of all of this really was. Like…why the push for an arts tour for our aboriginal communities instead of for someone else? As a practitioner who has spent many years working in the arts trenches, I know that resources are thin on the ground for everyone.

As I sat and really considered this, an image of Stan popped into my head.

And who’s Stan, you ask? Well, let me tell you. Stan just happens to be one of the most popular male Aboriginal dancers on the southern pow wow circuit. I first saw Stan dance at the Grey Eagle Casino as part the Aboriginal Day celebrations at the Tsuu T’ina Nation. He was representing the Men’s Fancy Dance category and he, I’m not going to lie, completely blew me away.

Stan dancing was a hurricane of colour, virtuoso, and male power. I had never truly seen anything like it and, if I had had my way, I could have watched Stan dance for hours. As I left the casino that afternoon after the performance, I couldn’t help but feel both inspired and affirmed in my belief about the power of dance.

One of the most interesting things I discovered about Stan was that he wasn’t technically a professional dancer. In fact, it turned out he was a cook at the Grey Eagle. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that cooks can’t dance but I would be hard pressed to find many civilians (as in us non-artsy fartsies) dance with the same brilliance and passion as Stan.

So what was it that had a cook in an Aboriginal community possible out dance almost everyone in my Euro-centric world? The answer: a foundational connection to the heritage and artistic heartbeat on one’s own culture.

Unfortunately, a huge epidemic is running rampant in many of our Aboriginal communities. Substance abuse, high rates of diabetes, poverty, and gang crime in combination with an increasingly alarming and growing disconnect to their heritage (which many blame on the residential school syndrome) have lead to the despondency in many communities. This despondency is killing the soul of many Aboriginal communities, fracturing individuals and even nations.

Our answer: the ACE music and dance tour. While I would never be so arrogant as to believe that one little arts tour in seven communities will solve any of the above issues, I do sincerely believe that it could be a stopgap, musical healing, or at least a temporary balm for the soul.

And if you don’t believe in the healing power of the arts, then I dare you to go find Stan from the Tsuu T’ina Nation and watch him dance.

To vote daily (until August 31^st) for the ACE Communities Pepsi Refresh Project go to: http://ab.yace.ca/artstour

Yeehaw!!

I love the Calgary Stampede. There, I said it. Calgarians are definitely torn when it comes to the idea of the Stampede. There are the ones who either flee the city or hole up in their houses for the whole month of July versus those who throw on their cowboy hats and mosey on down to the nearest pancake breakfast. I am proudly the later of the two.

There is no denying that I have always been a cowboy culture junkie and, trust me, the kitchier the better. Bring on the horses, the belt buckles, and rancher’s brands.

Heck, I even own a painting with a cowboy in it and am actually disappointed that I only have the one. I do, however, have a fantastic pinhole photograph of the Stampede Grounds by Calgary-based photographer Dianne Bos (see image above) so I guess I’m not doing too badly.

So, needless to say, when the Stampede rolls into town I always get a little excited. It is the one time during the year that the whole city comes together to celebrate its history. We did actually have cowboys here at one time, you know. It’s true… we did.

When I went for a jog this past Friday (around the various piles of horse poo, I must add… where else but Calgary!), I accidently came across the annual Stampede parade. There were families in cowboy gear, the famous Clydesdales, and the Calgary police squad on horseback. People had picnic coolers and matching cowboy shirts – it was a party in the making!

I felt for that moment that I was really part of something bigger than myself… and that big something touched on the mandate of ACE Communities. It was then that I realized that the combined Stampede activities, much like ACE, really did use recreation and culture to bring community together.

The Calgary Stampede is truly one of the times in the year that we have a valid excuse to come together with our neighbours, our families, and our friends… and wear Stetsons. It’s a time for block parties (been to one in my neighbourhood already), stampede breakfasts (I’ve hit three so far) and fun times on the Stampede Grounds. I even have a date planned with my mom, the Stampede corral, and a veggie corn dog if I can find one.

When else in the year can you actually wish someone a ‘Happy Stampede’ and receive a greeting back? For good or for evil, Calgarians are all in this together. So I say let’s use these together time to celebrate our history and to build community. And if a cowboy painting or two happens to come my way… then yeehaw!

For more of Dianne Bos’s pinhole photos, see: http://www.newzones.com/dynamic/artist.asp?ArtistID=133&Page=5