New citizens get 'true Canadian experience' at Manito Ahbee Festival ceremony

CBC News

· Posted: May 18, 2025 7:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

For 2 decades, the Manito Ahbee festival has been showcasing Indigenous cultures, inviting each Manitobans to acquisition 1 of the largest powwows successful North America. 

On Sunday, the festival astatine Red River Exhibition Park welcomed 43 caller Canadians astatine a citizenship ceremonial — a archetypal successful Manito Ahbee's 20-year history. 

The ceremonial was facilitated by Suzanne Carrière, Canada's archetypal Métis citizenship judge. 

"Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is simply a work shared by each Canadians, adjacent caller Canadians, arsenic you're astir to become," Carrière said during the ceremony.

Carrière led attendees done an oath, aboriginal shaking hands with each of the caller citizens arsenic they were welcomed by Indigenous leaders. 

Manito Ahbee committee seat David Dandeneau said it was a "joyful" acquisition to clasp a citizenship ceremonial astatine the festival, adding it was the "perfect setting" for caller Canadians to acquisition the galore cultures of their caller home.  

"The Indigenous peoples were the archetypal ones here. So the precise essence of Canada is rooted successful that. And I deliberation if they privation to person the Canadian experience, the existent Canadian experience, they person to acquisition this," Dandeneau said. 

He said helium hopes the festival volition proceed to clasp citizenship ceremonies moving forward. 

Hugh Oates, who moved from Jamaica to Winnipeg astir six years ago, said it was a joyous infinitesimal to observe Indigenous civilization portion becoming a Canadian citizen.

"It was good, knowing that they person built this state and we are present with them. It's a bully feeling knowing that we are enjoying the bequest that they enactment retired for us," Oates said. 

His wife, Kera Blake-Oates, said "proud is an understatement" erstwhile it comes to becoming a Canadian. And achieving that milestone astatine Manito Ahbee "makes america consciousness precise welcome."

Oates said the household has tickets for the festival and they are excited to larn much astir Indigenous cultures. 

Shortly aft the citizenship ceremony, a powwow featuring hundreds of dancers successful regalia began. 

Outside, lensman Katie Lambe said she was moving connected a adjacent movie sprout but she felt that the drums were calling to her. 

A Canadian national primitively from Newfoundland, Lambe said experiencing her archetypal powwow astatine Manito Ahbee connected Sunday was a "life-changing" experience. 

"It was the astir beauteous show of community," she said, getting affectional portion recounting what it was similar to spot a oversea of dancers dancing successful unison. 

"The singing and the drums, the dancing, the glitter. It was incredible. I was conscionable successful awe of the full thing, " Lambe said.

Lambe said that successful that infinitesimal she felt "lucky" to unrecorded successful Manitoba, a state with "such a beautiful, vibrant assemblage of Indigenous people." 

Dandeneau said the powwow acquisition "touches you successful the astir profound way." 

That's wherefore the caller Canadians were introduced during the powwow's expansive introduction astatine noon connected Sunday. 

"If you honour and respect your chap man, oregon women, oregon whoever, that's wherever you found bonds and you found reconciliation — existent reconciliation," Dandeneau said.