Royal Mint releases $30 coin celebrating the fancy dance
The Royal Canadian Mint partnered up with McGill University’s First Peoples’ House (FPH) September 21 to present their new limited edition silver $30 coin depicting a fancy dancer in full regalia. The Mint used the opportunity of the FPH’s 17th annual powwow, which took place in a tent on the main field of the university’s campus, to celebrate the coin’s unveiling.
Despite pouring rain and claps of thunder, guests took their seats as the dancers prepared their elaborate outfits. The ceremony began with drumming to set the tempo, as Marc Miller, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, approached the podium.
“My secretary said I could bank on having some good weather for today,” Miller quipped. “I guess the moral of the story is: don’t trust the federal government.”
Miller said the day was historic for a number of reasons. “Governments used to frown upon this kind of regalia,” he explained. “Today is the opposite of that, we want to shine the light on the beauty, the traditions and the cultures that bring vibrance into our world.”
Garrison Gallow, the Mohawk artist who designed the colourful coin, talked to The Nation about the unveiling.
“This powwow is the perfect place to reveal the coin,” said Gallow. “It gives Indigenous people the ability to reconnect with their culture, while also letting non-Indigenous people experience our way of life in a good light, as opposed to the negative perspective that is often presented in the media.”
Hailing originally from Akwesasne, Gallow said he used the project to reconnect with the powerful forces that fancy dances create. “Whenever I do any kind of artwork with Indigenous themes, I try to get a feel of it, to express what it means to the people who would relate to it most. I’m not a fancy dancer myself, so it was wonderful to explore all the different forms of expression that make up the fancy dance. I spoke with my fancy dancer friends to understand the feeling of it, so that I could capture the energy and movement in the static coin.”
Perhaps Gallow’s mission exceeded his expectations – before being unveiled, the coin fell off its podium three times. “It just wants to dance!” exclaimed Ray Deer, the head veteran dancer of the Deer Family Mohawk Singers and Dancers who organizes the FPH powwow each year. After an inter-tribal dance, the coin was finally unveiled with a drum roll.
The coin itself features a mixture of engravings and colourings. It presents an assemblage of motifs, textures and traditional elements from Indigenous cultures across Canada. Don’t bank on finding this 62-gram coin in your change, however – its mintage is limited to 3,500 and retails for $189.95.