More than 100 dancers, their families, and spectators gathered under shade trees at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford on Saturday for the annual Smoke Dance Celebration.

“It started as a war dance. Only the men did it,” explained Kyleeya Johnson, language assistant at WCC. “It has a very slow tempo but over the years the tempo sped up and the women picked it up.

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“We do it as a competition, and at shows but it’s more or less something that’s not so sacred to us that we can showcase it to everybody.”

The dance celebration was a friendly competition, with prize money awarded in age categories that included tiny tots, juniors, teens, adults, and golden age, men’s and women’s groups, according to WCC projects and grants manager Christine VanEvery.

“It’s a very hi

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