Man and hoop melded together in a seemingly effortless manner, telling a story in front of a large crowd at the Tisdale Museum’s Canada 150 celebration.
It was only the gasps of breath Patrick Nippi took after he had finished performing the hoop dance that betrayed the physicality of the performance.
Nippi, who’s originally from the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation, said the dance had many interpretations, but he would leave that to the viewer. He’s been dancing since he was 12, but the interest started when he had a dream about the dance when he was six.
“When I was six years old, I often wondered what it was. I talked to my mother about it and she said, ‘don’t say nothing. You will know in time,’” he told the audience. “At the time, I didn’t realize this dance was going to become a part of me for the rest of my life. Also, I didn’t realize it was going to help me to heal in a holistic perspective and it’s been a blessing for me that was given to me to hoop dance.”
The last time Nippi danced at the museum was nine years ago. He said part of the reason he dances is to show gratitude for the life that has been so freely given to him and bestowed upon him, something he wants to convey to youth.
“Our youth are the ones that are going to carry this future and they are the ones that we to have to share our knowledge and our spirituality and also the importance of family and also communication within the family system.”
He also wanted to convey a sense of kinship and interconnectedness with humanity.
“When it comes to Tisdale, I would like to encourage the town of Tisdale and the people. Do not be afraid to open your hearts and your minds, to mingle and interact with our First Nations people that are in Kinistin,” he said.
Dignitaries speak
Nippi’s dance was far from the only event at the Canada Day celebration. There was also a breakfast, children’s activities, a cake, a performance by Jim Chute – who was with Ray Olde and Terry Hancock, and speeches from local dignitaries.
Fred Bradshaw, the MLA for Carrot River Valley, said he was thankful for the freedoms experienced by Canadians.
“We have freedom to vote, we have freedom of the press – even though I don’t like what they say sometimes. We have all of these freedoms that many other countries just wish that they could have.”
Al Jellicoe said Canada, Saskatchewan and Tisdale are great places to live.
“Somebody keeps talking about making the U.S. great again,” he said, referring to Donald Trump’s campaign slogan. “We don’t have to worry about that because this has been great for the last 150 years and it probably will be for the next 150 years.”
Randy Hoback, the MP for Prince Albert, said Canadians have a great quality of life.
“Now we just want to make it better,” he said. “We want to make sure our kids have a better quality of life so they look about at the next 150, 300 years and they say we created something that’s just marvelous, just spectacular and they just want to see that continue.”
