CREDIT: JOHN SING
Fanshawe will be hosting its first Rock your Mocs event between noon and 2 p.m. November 10 at Forwell Hall.

Fanshawe College’s First Nations Centre will be hosting its first Rock your Mocs event between noon and 2 p.m. on November 10 at Forwell Hall.

First Nations Studies student Frazer Philips will be explaining different styles of powwow and Haudenosaunee dances, such as the men’s and women’s traditional, men’s and women’s fancy, men’s grass and women’s jingle.

“What this does it gives people a better understanding of why the dances are being danced the way they’re being danced and a little bit of the identity behind them,” Philips said. “We thought it’d be good to share that knowledge a little bit more in depth with people here at Fanshawe.”

Indigenous people will also be encouraged to wear moccasins on Monday to show their pride.

Bev Antone-Collar, Fanshawe’s Aboriginal Student Success Advisor, says the goal of the event is to show people some of the positive aspects of the Indigenous culture.

“Hopefully, they’ll feel more comfortable if they ever go a gathering and see those,” she said.

She says the First Nations Centre hopes that the event will bring more students and staff to the year-end social gathering.

“We find that a lot of people are intimidated to go in, because they don’t know what it’s all about,” she said.

Every year the First Nations Centre invites the community and holds a social gathering to celebrate the success of First Nations students on campus.

Rock your Mocs started in the United States as a day for Indigenous people to display their pride during Native American Heritage month. The movement has since spread via social media.