Red Deer hosts UFC-style Powwow Dance Championships #2 this weekend
Sylvan Lake promoter Patrick Mitsuing is staging a head-to-head powwow dance competition at the Red Deer Resort & Casino, borrowing presentation tactics from mixed martial arts to broaden the sport's audience.
The Powwow Dance Championships #2, running Friday and Saturday at the Red Deer Resort & Casino, is organized by Patrick Mitsuing of Sylvan Lake, who has run Powwow Times for nearly a decade. Mitsuing, himself a world champion fancy dancer, modeled the event on UFC-style matchups, pitting top dancers head-to-head with walkout music, stage introductions and a Friday evening press conference and faceoff designed to resemble a fight weigh-in.
Mitsuing said his goal is to draw new audiences beyond regular powwow attendees, pairing the competition with a live concert featuring top powwow drum groups. He said he has also secured a streaming deal for next year that will include an eight-part series about the art and sport.
Among the competitors are 23-year-old Tristan Carter of Onion Lake Cree Nation, who is in Saturday's main event, and 21-year-old Shundiin Whitehorse of Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation in Saskatchewan. Both recently competed at the Black Hills Powwow in Rapid City, South Dakota, with Whitehorse placing second and Carter third. Whitehorse, who made her own regalia with beadwork inspired by her mother's designs, said the stage format is a new and exciting experience for her, while Carter said events like this bring wider attention to Indigenous culture.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.