Manito Ahbee returns to Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg

The Manito Ahbee Festival is returning to Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg from October 30 to November 1, 2026, bringing dancers, singers, artists and visitors together on Treaty 1 territory.

The festival spent its first ten years at the arena, executive director Lisa Meeches said in a statement on the festival's return. The building was then called the MTS Centre. Meeches said the return "marks an ongoing commitment to honouring both identity and reclamation."

At the centre of the weekend is the Manito Ahbee Pow Wow on October 31 and November 1, which brings dancers and singers from across North America into the arena. In-person dancer registration begins Friday, October 30.

The wider festival includes the return of NextGEN, an Indigenous youth empowerment celebration, along with food vendors and the Indigenous marketplace, which runs all three days and brings together entrepreneurs and artists from across Turtle Island.

Saturday's program also includes The Drum Calls Us All, an evening of music, dance and storytelling. Its powwow challenge pairs Indigenous dancers with invited non-Indigenous community leaders, partners and friends, with the dancers sharing what dancing means to them and the meaning of their regalia. An Indigenous artist showcase and Pow Wow 101 are also part of the evening.

The festival's name was gifted through ceremony and comes from the Manito Ahbee sacred site in Manitoba's western Whiteshell, one of the most important traditional Indigenous gathering sites, organizers say. They describe the name as an Ojibway word meaning "where the Creator sits."

Tickets are available through the festival's website.