Highlighting a major part of First Nations culture, the tenth annual Living Sky Casino Pow Wow kicked off on Saturday, bringing the sights and sounds of the traditional celebration where life makes sense.

Taking place in the Stockade building at Kinetic Park, the event featured the grand entrance of veterans & dignitaries, dancing, and a supper.

Both Saturday and Sunday saw festivities fill the day as the free-to-attend event was filled with those wanting to experience the celebration of culture.

In the crowd attending the event were local elected officials such as Swift Current Mayor Denis Perrault and Swift Current MLA Everett Hindley, but also a global celebrity.

Steve Wood is the leader and founder of the eight-time Grammy-nominated, and Juno award-winning group, Northern Cree.

He said that he grew up with the traditional music that could be heard at Swift Current's pow wow.

"I've done this all my life," he said. "My father was a singer before me. We used to have nights at our home where we didn't have electricity, and there was no such thing as a television when I was growing up, my father was a singer and people would come over to our place... and then at night when my father and the men were talking, my father would pull out the drum and they'd sing and we'd dance. It was like magic."

Having received global recognition for Northern Cree's musical talent, Wood said that he was happy that First Nations music was celebrated as it now is, and said he had seen it become more mainstream throughout his life.

Commenting on the resurgence in the popularity for traditional First Nations music through bands such as A Tribe Called Red, which samples Northern Cree's music, Wood said that non-indigenous members of the community should feel free to make the trip to a pow wow as they are welcome.

"Regular Canadians think 'we can't go to those' but they're welcome, and these things happen right across North America. The key things about these things, is that you're all welcome. The key thing is they're usually all free, unless they're in a big centre."

The event provided a platform for drummers and singers such as Wood to perform, and traditional dancers were also in attendance to compete.

One dancer who was at the event competing was Claude Friday, a Treaty 4 resident who has been going to pow wows for nearly 40 years.

Echoing the inclusive sentiment of Wood, Friday said that sharing the tradition with non-indigenous residents of Swift Current was great to be able to do.

"It's a relatively new pow wow, but still, coming to Swift Current to share the culture and our dance and our song, not only to help our families, but to educate other cultures because we're all treaty people here in Saskatchewan and Canada. Wherever there is a pow wow, it's beneficial for everybody."

Friday said that due to the past suppression of First Nations Culture by the Canadian government, the people of Swift Current and area being exposed to the event would lead to education and understanding between the two cultures.

Speaking on the benefits of education through first-hand pow wow experience, Friday said that the City of Swift Current should look at ways of better passing on the experiences.

"They should start bringing the school children here, etcetera, and the elders that are in these homes, come bring them out for the afternoon, because it's a free event and it's about learning about one another and sharing and caring, so I think the city has to take a better look at their community on what more they can do to educate themselves."

Aside from the better sense of understanding derived from community support of pow wows, Friday noted that they also provide economic support to the area.

One such way that this is done is by drawing in competitors in the pow wow, who in turn support local businesses such as hotels and restaurants.

Tyrell Bear is one of those competitors, and drove eight hours to compete at Swift Current's pow wow.

"I've been competing since I was a kid. since I could walk, I've been competing all the time, every summer I'm always out there, I'm always in Canada and the states, just competing against everybody. You make a lot of friends that way too."

Bear said that he had seen friends he had made around Canada and the United States of America in attendance at the Swift Current event.

Ron Toles, Swift Current City Councillor, said that both the pow wow and Living Sky Casino were doing a lot to benefit the city, both culturally and economically.

"The casino is an amazing support to our city, they pump lots of money back into our community, and they're just a good business partner. We saw that last week during Hockey Day in Canada."

Living Sky Casino played host to the Music of Hockey Day event when the televised celebration of sport was in Swift Current earlier in the month.