The Moose Jaw branch of the Western Development Museum (WDM) is keeping busy as the fall season approaches, and you don’t want to miss the museum’s biggest event of the year.
“Our biggest upcoming event will be our powwow,” said program and volunteer coordinator Alexis Jones. “It’s a three-day event.”
The event will run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 at the museum, and activities for the entire family are scheduled throughout the day on each respective date.
“There will be a Truth and Reconciliation event Friday morning… so we will have different speakers, a singer, and a drummer there,” explained Jones. The presentation will run from 10:30 a.m. until around noon.
On each date, there will be a grand entry for the day’s powwow event.
“The first grand entry for the powwow is 6 p.m. on Friday,” Jones said. On Saturday there will be two grand entries taking place, the first at 1 p.m. and a second will take place at 6 p.m. On Sunday, a final grand entry will take place at 1 p.m. to end the three-day event.
The Moose Jaw Co-op is helping to sponsor the event. “There will be a free family barbecue (provided by the Co-op) and spin the wheel for free prizes and a draw,” confirmed Jones.
“There will also be vendors throughout, with different booths featuring Indigenous creators,” she said.
Additionally, on Sept. 28, the WDM has partnered with other organizations to provide a curator-guided walking tour at the upcoming Wakšúpi Lakota beadwork exhibit at the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery (MMAG). “It’s a big event, and we’re all partnering up for it,” Jones said.
The guest curator for the event will be Dr. Claire Thomson with Parks Canada. Thomson is also the volunteer secretary for the Wood Mountain Historical Society and has earned her Ph. D in Lakota history.
The exhibition will showcase a wide assortment of Indigenous beadwork from a variety of Lakota artists, and the guided tour will help guests see the world through the Lakota perspective.
The Wakšúpi Lakota Beadwork exhibition will open to the public at the MMAG on Sept. 22, and the guided tour will take place on Thursday, Sept. 28 starting at 7 p.m.
The WDM is the largest human history museum in Saskatchewan and features a collection of over 75,000 artifacts across four locations. The Moose Jaw branch specializes in the history of transportation.
The WDM will remain open throughout the year for self-guided visits, and in addition to this, the museum holds regular programming to support its mission of sharing Saskatchewan’s history and bring new life to the people who helped shape our province.
The museum is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. During the winter months, the museum is closed on Mondays from January to March and on stat holidays from October to April.
Further details on these and other upcoming events will be posted on the museum’s website, wdm.ca.
For more information, Alex Jones can be reached at 306-693-5989 or at [email protected].
The Western Development Museum in Moose Jaw is located at 50 Diefenbaker Drive.
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