It is the Kamloopa Powwow at the Tk’emlups Indian Band, and it will draw up to 20,000 people this weekend. Many will camp on the site, but others will find accommodation in Kamloops, the central British Columbia city.
The festival of drumming and dancing begins Friday morning with a Grand Entry, which is a formal procession of the elders and dignitaries and staff bearers. A solemn occasion appreciated by many, it will be repeated with other guests and visitors three other times over the weekend.
These processions also welcomes the dancers, in various categories, and all age-groups; Golden Age, adults, teens and children.
Fancy Shawl is a women’s dance where the choreography resembles the movement of a butterfly.
The traditional Warrior Dance is for men and boys recreating the story of hunter-gatherers.
The Women’s Traditional Dance usually features a buckskin dress and a dancers suggesting the women standing behind their men.
One of the big favourites is the Women’s and Girl’s Jingle-dress Dance. This is a healing dance that came from a vision in the Ojibway tradition around 1900. 365 jingles or little bells, made from twisting a piece of tin (it used to be the lids of cans of chewing tobacco) are attached to the dress, creating the sound when one dances.
Everyone’s welcome and there are special dances that non-natives can join in. The only request over the weekend celebration is, if you want to take a photo of someone in their powwow outfit, ask them first!
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