Local delegation performs historic powwow on China's Great Wall

THUNDER BAY – A local delegation of First Nations youth have made history.

The group of eight, representing six different Northwestern Ontario communities and sponsored by the city of Thunder Bay, recently travelled across the world and performed the first powwow on the Great Wall of China.

They were joined by a Sister Cities committee member Peng You, city Aboriginal liaison Ann Magiskan and local filmmaker Damien Gilbert.

City clerk John Hannam said sending the contingent is a way of bringing Thunder Bay together with Jiaozuo City to build an official Sister Cities partnership.

“I think it’s great exposure both for our community and region and certainly for First Nations cultures in terms of an introduction of that to China in this small way,” he said. “We’re pretty excited we were able to make this opportunity happen and it bolsters our growing relationship with Jiaozuo City.”

The delegation, which was invited to complete an official tour of duties representing their communities, Thunder Bay and Canada, spent four days in Jiaozuo City as well as three days in the capital city of Beijing.

The group was originally scheduled to visit China earlier this year and perform along with an international tai chi festival, but the city fell short of the $35,000 needed for the trip.

Hannam said the costs for the trip at this time of year were significantly less expensive than in the summer, when the group was first expected to travel.

This is the latest in a number of exchange visits between the two cities, as a delegation from China was in Thunder Bay last month where they visited Lakehead University among other areas of the city.

Youth and education is a common theme between the two cities.

“It’s part of building that relationship,” he said. “Certainly Lakehead University has been actively building a strong relationship with Henan Polytechnic University for both student and faculty exchanges.”

Hannam said the mayor of Jiaozuo City has been invited to bring an official delegation to Thunder Bay next year that could include a formal Sister Cities declaration signing.