A Cultural Gathering of Nations will take place in the Peace, offering local Indigenous, and non-Indigenous people an opportunity to meet and build community together.
This will be the first-ever gathering of this kind in the Peace, and it will take place in Dawson Creek’s Ovintiv Events Centre, with the Treaty 8 Nations gathering for a four-day celebratory powwow and hand game event.
“It’s about coming together and building relationships, not only for our Indigenous communities and neighbours across the north and western Canada, but also for non-Indigenous people to come in,” said Dale Bumstead, the event’s organizer and principal of Scion Strategies.
Powwows are gatherings hosted by Indigenous communities where they dance and honour traditions together. Indigenous groups in the Peace host powwows, but Bumstead said this gathering will have the first-ever hand game tournament, with these tournaments considered another pillar in some communities.
Hand game is a traditional Indigenous game where two teams compete. One team, which is comprised of six to eight players, will hides small items in their hand and the other team guesses the items’ locations. Another key element of the game is the drummers, who provide rhythm and flow to the players.
“The drummers are really kind of that foundational piece for the First Nations people,” Bumstead explained. “The drums are pounding away and beating away during the games, it really creates that vibrancy, or energy, that really is quite exciting when you’re in the room.”
Non-Indigenous residents in the northeast are encouraged to attend the celebration from September 18 to 21 and learn about Indigenous culture. Events will include a tea dance, game tournaments, bingo, and a powwow.
“Non-Indigenous people (can) come in and experience and participate in, and witness, some of these traditional, cultural activities that take place and start to build that education and build up that partnership,” explained Bumstead.
The event will also have a tent at the rear of the centre, where a culture camp will be set up for attendees to view traditional activities, like hide tanning and dried meat.
“We just want to have that as an opportunity for a gathering spot for people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to see, and experience, and talk about some of those traditional methods,” said Bumstead.
As organizers continue working, Bumstead said they are all looking forward to watching as their efforts pay off at the inaugural event in Dawson Creek.
