THUNDER BAY — “Richard Lyons was the one who introduced powwow back to Northwestern Ontario because it was outlawed,” said Sterling Finlayson, owner of Boozhoo Productions.
Now Lyons' legacy lives on through a new film, by Boozhoo productions and director Jim Hyder, that pays a tribute to his life and work.
Remembering Richard Lyons, was just released online, supported by the Thunder Bay Museum. It's free to watch.
The documentary tells the story of how Lyons, with the support of his family in 1969, formed the Lyons Dance Team in his home community Couchiching First Nation, near Fort Frances
The family-driven effort quickly reintroduced powwow dancing into society at a time when many Indigenous traditions were suppressed, and became a cultural movement that awakened a new-found pride for indigenous people, while educating non-indigenous communities on the richness of traditions, said Finlayson.
“They all loved it, all who were part of it,” he said. “This is what we're doing to preserve our own culture.”
Over decades of consistent dedication Lyons, his family and community members have re-established powwows as vibrant public events that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together in the spirit of celebration, inclusion, and reconciliation, said a media release.
“Richard Lyons was the one that implemented all this,” said Finlayson. “He went around to each reserve and he was starting to bring back the medicine, starting to bring back all the drumming.”
Because of his constant dedication Lyons received the Governor General’s Award in 2002 and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Lakehead University in 1992 because of his cultural contributions to Northwestern Ontario.
The film features the voices of community members who were directly impacted by Lyons and the dance team
Finlayson said he was excited to learn about Lyons legacy and to work with Hyder for around eight weeks on the production.
“I said, you know what, I don't know about this and I don't know how many people probably know about this either. So, I agreed to jump on the project,” said Finlayson.
“We decided to interview all of Richard Lyons' family members as many as we can find, and people that were on his crew, all the people who travelled around with him,” said Finlayson. “I learned a lot during this film that I didn't know.”
The production had its release party in the summer of 2024, where Lyons family members and community members met at The Thunder Bay Museum.
