How 2 residential school survivors are reclaiming their culture through powwow dancing – CBC

Sep 29, 2025

Starla Starblanket took up dancing at 55 ‘for that little girl that lives inside of me’

Starla Starblanket danced women’s traditional, dressed in full regalia, for the first time in nearly 50 years earlier this month.

“[I] found a sense of personal identity when I braided my hair, when I put that regalia on and I took my place in line there,” said Starblanket, 55.

Starblanket is a residential school survivor from Starblanket Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. She rejoined the powwow circle with new regalia that was made in time for the Treaty 4 Gathering powwow in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask., about 70 kilometres northeast of Regina, Sept. 20-21.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/powwow-dancing-residential-school-survivors-1.7642501