Thursday evening the Thundering Hills Dance Troupe left the audience in awe after performing various pow wow dances and entertaining those in attendance with drumming and singing. 

Each time a dancer took the stage the Narrorator, Kevin Haywahe, described in great detail the meaning behind each piece of their regalia and what animal they were portraying as they began to move. 

"We were sharing in the culture of our First Nations in song and dance, a little bit of history of where this song and dance has come from. The regalia, what it represents, the bead work, the face paint, the drum and the stories of history of our Native people from the wars and the battles that they went through. The suffering and the things that we went through from the time of European contact."

It was hard to not to get lost in the stories Haywahe told as he explained them with such passion and pride for his ancestors. He agreed that pow wow dancing can be an emotional experience when you are trying to express things that mean so much to you. 

"All your emotion is a part of it. The spirituality of it is what has been given to us and the Creator has bestowed this style of tradition upon our people. Which we never thought it would come where it is today in our world from the old history days of storytelling as we grew up, so a lot of us, before we put our regalia on, we smudge and we pray."

"Just be grateful, be kind. Don't be afraid to share, don't be afraid to ask questions... We all bleed the same, we all have families, children and those are the ones that need to be looked after in the proper way. Even with our own spirit, our grandmas and our grandpas, we must listen to them and respect them - and have respect for one another, each human being, each race," said Haywahe. 

He and the rest of the Thundering Hills Dance Troupe are participating in the competitive powwow at Mosaic Place on Frday evening. 

Listen below to the full interview with Narrorator Kevin Haywahe and Discover Moose Jaw's Hayley Hart.