"Six Nations Dancer Dies Performing at Powwow"

OHSWEKEN - A Six Nations resident who has been a competitive powwow dancer for almost 20 years died on the weekend while performing at the Kettle and Stony Point powwow.

Rusty Thomas, 42, was performing the hoop dance before a crowd of onlookers when he suffered a heart attack Saturday.

The hoop dance is a tradition among native people in Western Canada, and is not very common in this area. The dancer uses many hoops and dances within a sacred circle where dancers and drummers perform.

"To me, he was just a really soft-spoken gentleman," said Linda Jamieson, who works the Woodland Cultural Centre.

"He died doing the thing he loved the most."

Mr. Thomas was born on the Six Nations reserve and spent most of his childhood in the community. He moved to the United States when he was a young adult, and just moved back to this area about 10 years ago.