Portage la Prairie's Fort la Reine Museum held the Spotlight Demonstration Pow Wow yesterday afternoon, featuring dancers and singers from Dakota Tipi, Long Plain, and Sandy Bay First Nations.

Coordinator Terry Pashe calls that aspect important.

Terry Pashe"To remember that we are brothers and sisters in what we do," he says, "That's the first nation portion. But also, these groups of people were brought together for the town of Portage la Prairie to get to know -- to get to understand, and possibly do what they can to help."

72 year old dancer Randy Pashe gave the invocation, to open the pow wow, and sees it as an exchange of cultures.

"It's like a social gathering," he stresses, "You come and have a good meal, watch the dancing, or even go out there, and dance yourself, and meet some people, and make friends. That's what it's all about -- a social gathering."

Randy Pashe

Portage la Prairie MLA Ian Wishart was part of the opening invocation, and feels it's important to have this type of pow wow in Portage.

"I know that there are a lot of people in Portage la Prairie and area that have never had the opportunity (to attend a pow wow)," he says, "And so this is a type of exposure, in

Ian Wishartterms of the culture that's here, and so it's really great to have that type of exposure for people, and I think this is a really great first step, and I hope they do it again."

Portage Mayor Irvine Ferris is pleased the pow wow was held right after Canada Day.

"This is a huge part of our heritage in Portage," he says, "And for a lot of people that haven't had a chance to attend a pow wow, this is a golden opportunity. It's right here in our back yard, literally."

Irvine Ferris

Museum Executive Director Madison Connolly adds it's an important event for the museum.

"First and foremost, this is a tourism centre," she says, "And so if people are not having fun here, or not enjoying what they're seeing here, we're doing something wrong. It's also more important that we're here to invite different communities, and different cultural backgrounds into the space, to share their current stories."

Madison Connolly

Connolly hopes the pow wow could become an annual event at the museum.

Here are more pictures from yesterday.