Powwow aims to bring Siksika Nation and Strathmore residents together in honour of slain Indigenous man
The Town of Strathmore and Siksika Nation hosted the first Lead By Example Powwow this weekend in honour of a young Indigenous man who was shot to death four years ago.
Family of Kristian Ayoungman describe him as a talented powwow dancer and hockey player whose life ended far too soon.
“Anything you put in front of him, he excelled in it,” his mother, Melodie Ayoungman-Hunt, said.
“He was just happy, hard-working and very smart. He was one of the First Nation’s finest gentleman.”
The 24-year-old was found dead in his vehicle on a rural highway south of Strathmore on March 17, 2019. An autopsy determined he died of a gunshot wound.
Over the weekend, hundreds gathered in Strathmore at the Lead By Example Powwow to celebrate Ayoungman’s life.
“This just goes to show the impact that he’s made on everyone. He’s touched someone in some way,” Ayoungman-Hunt said.
“Who knew (Kristian) was going to become something so great, leaving his legacy for all of us to learn from.”
Hundreds gathered in Strathmore at the Lead by Example Powwow to celebrate Kristian Ayoungman’s life (CTV News Calgary/Nicole Di Donato).Ayoungman-Hunt also wanted to hold a powwow to bring Strathmore locals and Siksika Nation residents together.
“Siksika is only 15 minutes from Strathmore and we’re here every day; we support all the businesses, why not get to know each other?”
Ayoungman lived on Siksika Nation but went to school and played hockey in Strathmore.
The town was quick to help make the powwow a reality, with council endorsing it unanimously.
“We are part of the reconciliation process across this country, and we want to do our part to make things better for our Siksika friends and neighbours when they come into Strathmore,” Mayor Pat Fule said.
“This is a great opportunity for our two communities to bond and it celebrates Siksika’s culture, culture from all different First Nations groups and it’s just a great celebration of life and what Kristian stood for.”
Hundreds gathered in Strathmore at the Lead by Example Powwow to celebrate Kristian Ayoungman’s life (CTV News Calgary/Nicole Di Donato).
Two Strathmore brothers, Brandon and Kody Giffen were convicted of manslaughter in Ayoungman’s death after initially being charged with first-degree murder.
Ayoungman’s family believes his death was the result of racism.
“The way my boy’s life was taken, it was wrong. The way the justice system gave that verdict, to me, it’s wrong,” Ayoungman-Hunt said.
Siksika Nation Chief Ouray Crowfoot hopes introducing the community to their culture and addressing past racism will help them move forward.
“You can’t deny some of the racist things that have happened in this community and other communities around the area, so you can’t just sweep it under the rug,” he said.
“The more we work together, the more we understand each other, the more we realize that we’re more similar than different.”
Crowfoot adds that powwows help people heal.
“There’s healing powers in music. There’s healing powers in dancing … It’s a way of celebrating, not celebrating a man’s death, but celebrating the life and the lives to come,” he said.
Ayoungman-Hunt agrees and says she would like to see this powwow continue into the future.
“Times need to change. People need to change. Communities need to change,” she said.
“If more people understood the history, there’d be less ignorance, there’d be less hatred, there’d be less lack of understanding and we’d get to know each other better.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.