i went 3 days, about 5 or 6 times in total. it was a fantastic cultural experience.the culture is so vibrant; in history, traditions and dress. i have never actually experienced anything like that first hand. i had always seen it on tv or in movies but never in real life.
the best part was one of the midnight dance and song sessions. i had ran from work to check out the buffy sainte marie concert (which i missed, and am also extremely bitter about) but was happy to find hundreds of people in a circle watching many different native tribes dancing and singing.
if you can imagine it was the middle of the night, glowing teepee's all round, a crystal clear evening and stars over head, native song and dance blasting across the commons . the whole scene was seriously beautiful and haunting in a way.
ANYWAYS, besides me wanting to lay there and bask in the glory of the evening (and the day time sun the other 4 times), i sucked it up and pulled on my photojournalist-thinking-hat and got down to work.. if only for a few moments :)
here are a few photos from my day at the festival. i will post more whenever i really get around to editing them. :) please excuse the half-assed attempts at the more or less pseudo-photo-journalistic captioning.
halifax commons was set aglow with ever changing led-lit teepees (aren't they beautiful!!!)
dancers show off their immaculate costumes
all tribe dance, in a display of beautiful colours and movements
emele neufeld, 18, has been participating in traditional dancing since the age of two. neufeld explained he was 'thrown into it' at a young and oblivious age but understands the importance of his heritage and carrying on traditions.
the glowing teepees attract numerous visitors who watch in awe of their ever changing colours.
a young native girl is the center of attention as she is the only contender for her age category for traditional dance
young dancers prepare to compete infront of judges and hundreds of anxious on-lookers
the embroidered rose on wilma simon's wrist and arm represent her young and timid daughter.
joe googoo and family shave and tan a fresh moose skin in the traditional way, using pointed tools made out of moose shin bones.
wilma simon sings a traditional song about the destruction and despair that arose after the first settlers encountered her people.
an elder takes part in fancy 
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