Coeur d’Alene Casino celebrates Winter Blessings event [Video]

WORLEY, Idaho — Native American Heritage Month may be coming to a close, but the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel continued its celebration with its “Winter Blessing” event that highlighted Indigenous culture and community giving.

The event featured a presentation by Laura Grizzlypaws, an Indigenous advocate, dancer and storyteller from British Columbia, Canada and a member of St’át’imc heritage. 

“We are all people of the land,” Grizzlypaws said in her Indigenous language as a greeting to the crowd.

Grizzlypaws’ presentation included a performance of the Grizzly Bear Dance, an explanation of grizzly bears’ significance and a telling of the creation story. Grizzlypaws said that the Grizzly Bear Dance and its accompanying stories are central to her heritage.

“The story work of Grizzly Bear is really about bringing back the creation stories …