Noojim Owin, the Jingle Dance Healing Dance, is a community cultural revitalization project.
“When we dance, we dance for the people who have come before us, the people yet to come and for the people who need healing,” said JoAnn Restoule, cultural presenter.
Presented by Restoule and the Women’s Circle Dancers, the exhibition is on display at the Campbell River Art Gallery until the end of March.
Originally hosted by the Comox Valley Art Gallery, the project began in 2019 when a group of committed relatives took on the responsibility of deepening their awareness and understanding of the teachings of the Healing Dance and the gift of the healing energy that has come through from the ancestors.
“The vision of the Healing dance was gifted to the Anishnabe at a time in our history when a great sickness came upon the people of Turtle Island,” Restoule says. “As we had been instructed in our origin stories, our people called upon the strength of the gift of dreaming or visioning. It is said that at this time a great gift was brought to the people in the form of a vision. In the vision four women wore dresses in the colours of red, yellow, blue, and green. These dresses were covered in shiny metal cones, and we were instructed to bring this vision and dance to the people…to bring healing energy. Our people followed these instructions and with the support of the Ancestors…there was a great healing that came to the nation.”
The Anishnabe people’s traditional territory is located in what is now called Ontario, near the Great Lakes. A representative from the We Wai Kai welcomed the exhibition to the territory at an opening ceremony March 4.
The exhibition is on display in The CRAG’s satellite gallery, the next show in the Main Gallery, Ask the Mountains, runs March 19-May 21. An opening reception is planned for March 19.
