As the Life For Mile movie has a 50-50 split in terms of cultural representation between the Chinese and First Nations subjects, we shall attend the Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2011 this weekend (July 8-10, 2011) at the Capilano Indian Reserve.
The event is scheduled for three days with a Grand Entry at 7PM on each day (Sat. July 09, 1PM & 7PM). While thousands of aboriginals from across Canada and the U.S. will come to celebrate this annual gathering, about a hundred native dancers in full regalia would participate in the Grand Entry dance. It will be quite a sight.
Fans of the Life For Mile production are welcome to join us as well. Actor/Executive Producer Stephen Chang, Producer/Writer Ray Van Eng and other actors and crew members will be present.
Life For Mile is a movie currently being produced about the Chinese and First Nations involvement in the construction of the transcontinental railway in the 1880s that united Canada as a nation.
Here’s a video of the Squamish Youth Pow Wow 2010 last year
A solemn Squamish First Nations totem blessing ceremony at Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside offered the public a rare glimpse into the centuries-old aboriginal custom known as a potlatch. Geographically, Squamish is located about halfway between Vancouver and Whistler on the Sea-To-Sky Highway and this native community is also one of the Four Host First Nations (FHFN) that was a full and integral partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
In December 2006, a devastating storm ravaged the city’s Stanley Park. The 115 Km per hour (71 mph) wind damaged some 3,000 trees. About 40% of the forest was affected. The cleanup and restoration effort including mending part of the seawall cost a total of $9 Million. But all was not wasted though. Some of the Western Red Cedar were recycled and made into paddles and given as gifts to people around the UK coastline. The paddles were carved by Stewart Nahanee and painted by his brother Wes, both of the Squamish Nation. Wes was not only present at the ceremony but also invited as a guest speaker.
A large cedar log was also carved into two vertical halves (each about 12ft tall) by Chief Robertson and his son Henry Robertson Jr. to be made into two totem poles. On Nov. 06, 2010, a traditional First Nations ceremony was held at Oppenheimer Park and conducted by Bob Baker, a Squamish elder and lead singer and dancer of the Eagle Song Dancer group.
Four persons were chosen beforehand to be the witnesses of the sacred ceremony. In accordance with the Coast Salish tradition, these 4 witnesses carried out a cleansing ritual using sage and fresh water on the yet-to-be-finished totems with the two master carvers standing by in attendance. Then, the totems were then carried by ‘witnesses’ that were respected members of the Squamish Nations into the building nearby to protect the totems from the elements while the carvers would continue to work on the native artwork.
Once completed, the totems will be erected and a special ceremony will also be held to set them up at a site within the park. The day’s ceremony was also an excellent excuse for many in the Squamish community to gather together or ‘Tzo’kam’ as in the native language.
To round off the blessing ceremony, Bob Baker and the Eagle Song Dancers performed an eagle dance for the occasion. Years ago, I worked with Bob in a short dramatic film project. He lead his dancers sang and danced the same song too. Seeing Bob again is like meeting an old friend for me.
This special carving project and celebration is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, City of Vancouver Great Beginnings Program, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Vancouver Moving Theatre, Constant Arts Society. The program was also part of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) Heart of the City Festival.
VIDEO – Squamish Nation Sacred Totem Ceremony at Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park
It’s Pow Wow feet stomping with strength and stamina for the men and Indian fancy shawl dancing for the native women of Squamish BC Canada. With youth being the focus, young men and women, even children, are dressed in full regalia at this annual gathering of the Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010. Squamish is part of Four Host First Nations, an official partner of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
Capilano Indian Reserve Park, 100 Capilano Road, West Vancouver, BC
It’s Pow Wow action Grand Entry time with First Nations aboriginal dancers of men and women from all ages. Native dancers in full regalia stomped on grass to kick off the Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow in Capilano Indian Reserve Park in West Vancouver on July 9-11, 2010. The event was a premiere North American gathering for the First Nations aboriginal people of Canada and their native American brothers in the south.
Capilano Indian Reserve Park, 100 Capilano Road, West Vancouver, BC
The 23rd annual Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow that took place on July 9-11 at Capilano Indian Reserve Park was a way for the indigenousness people of Canada and the U.S. to re-kindle old friendship, make new ones and to celebrate a common heritage of being the first people who have lived in different parts of North America for thousands of years if not longer. A key part of this year’s event was to encourage the younger generation to be engaged in the process, to learn about the native protocols and what it means to be part of a First Nations community.
The native people of Canada have suffered a great deal of unfair treatments at the hands of governments in the past. They were pushed off the land. Their languages and culture were suppressed with their traditional livelihood threatened. Forced assimilation, unemployment, discrimination etc. have all lead to a great deal of social problems at Indian reserves and in impoverish urban areas as a result. Progress has been gradually coming in recent years. Land claims and treaties are enacted and in the Vancouver area in particular, the formation of the Four Hosts First Nations (FHFN) which consisted of Squamish, Lil’wat, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh nations, which became an integral partner of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Passing on the traditional cultural heritage in a fast-changing and rapidly-assimilating world is a challenge for many of today’s societies that have a strong connection to their past. How to cultivate the youths to have a sense of belonging and be proud of their heritage are no so easily-achieved objectives. For the First Nations community, an event such as the Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow is certainly one of the ways to achieve that and emphasis has been placed in this years’ event.
There were native dance competition for all ages, arts and crafts, a food fair, and Grand Entry gatherings happened at various times of the three day event. Lots of handshakes, family togetherness, old friends and new acquaintances exchanging greeting and sharing a good joke or two all around.
Tewanee Joseph, executive director and CEO of the Four Host First Nations Squamish Nation Pow Wow 2010 Native Dance at Capilano Indian Reserve Park
The retiring of the 2009-2010 Squamish Nations Princesses too at Grand Entry
Grand Entry Dance with Northshore Mountains as Backdrop
Native Canadian Flag at Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010
Drummers Bringing in Grand Entry at Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010
Family Togetherness and Traditional Values at Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010
Young Female Competitive Dancer at Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010
Stand By the Canadian First Nations Flag with a Native Chief on It
First Natiosn Dancers Taking a Break at Grand Entry Time
Squamish Nation Youth Pow Wow 2010 at Capilano Indian Reserve Park
Capilano Indian Reserve Park, 100 Capilano Road, West Vancouver, BC
