Manito Ahbee Festival returns to Canada Life Centre

A massive, colorful display of pride and culture at one of North America's biggest pow-wows during the grand entry at Canada Life Center on Saturday. It was something Kuda Makanda never imagined seeing. He recently moved to Winnipeg from Zimbabwe. There's a great pride in the local indigenous culture, you know, to see. People from all parts of Manitoba coming to converge here and to celebrate their individual indigenous identity, that is something to really write home about. Let's go. Manitowabi has taken place in Winnipeg for over 20 years. The festival celebrates indigenous arts, culture, and music, with people dressing in regalia or showing up to sing and drum or sell their creations at the market. Merle Monroe has seen it before but has never been in person. He harvests sweetgrass and took the time to teach Makanda about it. Oh the man you take that inside then you share that with your people back home and then you could tell them like lots of nice people and dresses and a lot of creative people. It's all different here. That's what I like seeing. It seems like... Some from as far away as Australia were even at the event. Keisha Williams was in Winnipeg for an International Indigenous Business Forum. She experienced Manitowabi for the first time. Already it's just been so surreal. It's an amazing atmosphere, the vibes, and just to learn and understand the Manitonian, like the culture that you guys have here. More than 1,000 dancers were registered at the powwow. Executive producer Lisa Meeches says this is the first time in more than a decade the event has returned to the heart of downtown and the building the city's NHL team calls home. At the end of the day, Indigenous nations, They really love hockey, so this is a big treat for them to be dancing and pow-wowing in an NHL hockey arena. Meeches has also encouraged non-Indigenous people to immerse themselves in the festivities too. She says pow-wow is for everyone. Gavin Axelrod, CBC News, Winnipeg.