Mom helps baby who can’t walk yet dance first powwow to inspire young Crees to learn their culture

Saskatchewan-based Morgan Opikokew didn’t know that strapping her four-month-old daughter Margot into a harness to help her participate in her first powwow dance would make such a big splash online. But now that it has, she hopes it will encourage other parents to pass down their Cree heritage early on. The sweet video shows little Margot bouncing along in a jingle dress dance, a sacred healing tradition practiced by Cree, Ojibwe, and other Indigenous nations across North America. This tradition originated with the Ojibwe people in the early 20th century, around the time of the 1918 flu pandemic. History of the Jingle Dress Dance As the legend goes, the granddaughter of an Ojibwe medicine man fell sick. While sleeping, the grandfather kept dreaming of four women wearing Jingle Dresses and dancing. In the dreams, these women taught the man how to make the dress, what songs to play, and how to perform the dance, all of which would heal his granddaughter. When the grandfather awoke, he did as instructed, and his granddaughter became well. The tradition spread from the Ojibwe to neighboring nations, including Dakota, Lakota, and Cree communities, eventually becoming a staple of powwows across Indian Country. Today, some dancers keep to the old style, moving in a steady, graceful single file, keeping close to the ground, focusing on footwork without crossing their feet, and carrying no feathers. Others take on more contemporary flair with fancy footwork and feather fans or plumes. Jingle dresses get their names from the rows of rolled metal cones (traditionally one cone for each day of the year) that create a ringing, rain-like sound. A newborn performs the Jingle Dress Dance before she can walk…with some assistance Now cut back to sweet Margot, in her teeny-tiny fuchsia jingle dress. Since she can’t yet walk, she’s getting some assistance from the harness of a jolly jumper (an invention created by an Indigenous person). The footage is both adorable and moving. “The ancestors are celebrating with her on her journey through life,” wrote one viewer. “So sweet. A beautiful showing of a beautiful culture ❤️” added another. A third simply put, “Her widdle feets. 🥹” A viral moment that turned into a heartwarming lesson It wasn’t long before Opikokew’s video of her daughter went viral, racking up 1.5 million views and garnering attention from local news outlets. During an interview with CTV News, the proud mom shared that she didn’t attend her first powwow until she was a teenager. In fact, she told CCTV, “Growing up, I never really knew my culture. I didn’t even know that I was Indigenous, Cree, First Nations.” She wanted a different reality for her daughter. “It’s important to show the next generation the culture if we don’t want to lose it…Hopefully other parents see that in the video and then they want to do that as well.”