sakihiwe news

Nathaniel Sinclair at the Winnipeg Jets WASAC Night 2025
We're working with the Winnipeg Jets to present Mathias Colomb Cree Nation's 15-year-old round dance singer Nathaniel Sinclair at the team's annual Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC) Night on Sunday, January 26. The game starts at 5:00 PM and Nathaniel will be taking the ice to sing for thousands of Jets fans in the pregame ceremony at the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg.
"We have Joel Wood, of the Grammy nominated Northern Cree drum group, to thank for the introduction to Nathaniel," explains our festival director Alan Greyeyes. "Nathaniel made the trip to Winnipeg with his mom for our round dance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights last year and even though he didn't get a chance to lead a song or two, he stuck around after everyone had cleared out and sang with great pride for Joel and I as we were packing everything up. Joel filmed the performance on his phone, shared some words of encouragement, and then received a tone of love online shortly after posting the video to his social media profiles."
Nathaniel's trip to Winnipeg will begin on Tuesday, January 21 with a 45-minute flight from Pukatawagan to The Pas, followed by more than nine hours on the bus from The Pas, which will get him to Winnipeg on Wednesday.
Nathaniel is set to perform for a media event with the Winnipeg Jets and WASAC at the Canada Life Centre on Friday afternoon. We're sure that you'll also see him at our sākihiwē festival Round Dance at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights on Saturday night too.
About Nathaniel Sinclair
Nathaniel is a 15-year-old round dance and powwow singer from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba. His artistic journey began at age 2, when started picking up round dance and powwow songs from YouTube videos of Northern Cree. Nathaniel's love for traditional songs and dances grew with him as he got older and his mom fanned the flame by taking him to powwows and round dances across the Prairies.
Since connecting with Joel Wood at the sakihiwe festiva's round dance in 2024, Nathaniel has earned performance opportunities at the Burton Cummings Theatre and the sakihiwe festival's Turtle Island Block Party in Winnipeg.
About WASAC and the Winnipeg Jets WASAC Night
WASAC is a non-profit organization that embraces the pride of Winnipeg's Indigenous youth and families and helps to remove barriers for thousands of children and youth annually through sport, culture, and recreation.
The current Winnipeg Jets WASAC initiatives are the result of a long-standing relationship between True North Sports + Entertainment and WASAC dating back to the days of the original Manitoba Moose franchise. The program is part of the NHL's "Hockey is For Everyone" initiative, which promotes diversity and inclusion in hockey, while emphasizing the need to provide a safe and inclusive environment for everyone in the community to both play and enjoy the game.
A hallmark of the Jets WASAC weekend continues to be welcoming youth from northern and remote Indigenous communities to take in the games and special experiences throughout the weekend, including skating with Winnipeg Jets and NHL alumni at Camp Manitou.
Tickets for WASAC Night are available at WinnipegJets.com/TICKETS.
Funding Partners
We acknowledge the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, and the Winnipeg Arts Council for their financial support of the sākihiwē festival outreach programming.