Skip to content

Fort Rupert’s year-end cultural celebration

“We dance to show our deep appreciation for all gifts bestowed upon us in this life.”
web1_170_2
HANNA PETERSEN PHOTO Students perform the closing dance at the year-end cultural celebration at the Kwakiutl Big House.

Students danced at the Kwakiutl Big House in Fort Rupert for their year-end cultural celebration where they demonstrated the Kwakiutl songs and dances they’ve learned throughout the year.

Harold Nelson, who is the cultural teacher at Fort Rupert and Eagle View Elementary School, helps students gain knowledge of the kwakwaka’wakw people and territories by teaching their world views and perspectives.

“I was given permission from my late Uncle Chief Frank Nelson and Chief William Wasden JR. to use their songs and dance from their treasure box to teach our younger generations,” said Nelson, in an email to the Gazette, where he explained the meaning of some of the songs and dances the students performed.

“We dance to celebrate life. We dance to show our deep appreciation for all gifts bestowed upon us in this life,” said Nelson. “Dancing allows us to acknowledge the honour and privilege it is to be human, to be alive on the earth today. We dance to honour the creator; we dance to the memory of the ancestors. Dance was, and continues to be, a very important aspect of who we are as a people.”

Nelson explained the Tłalkwała Ladies Dance, stating the “Kwakwaka’wakw First Nations have a Potlatch ranking order that we recognize in our culture. This ranking system was established through Potlatching and war. During our winter ceremonies, the host Chief will ask the ladies of the various tribes to come and dance, starting with the highest ranking.”

Nelson said the ladies wear button blankets decorated with the crests and history of their families. These blankets replaced furs and cedar-bark robes after European contact. “The ladies listen to the words of the song and dance gracefully to the beat, displaying their gift of dance.”

The heart and soul of the Kwakwaka’wakw dance “lies in the voice and drum, as it has done since the beginning of time,” said Nelson.

He explained the responsibilities of the men at the log is also quite extensive. “Not only must they know the words to the songs, they must also know the drumming patterns to all these songs and who owned them and who made them and for what occasion they were made.”

Nelson said it’s generally agreed that the singers do a great service in the Bighouse.

“It is of utmost importance that the singers approach the task at hand with grace and humility as there is no room for arrogance and grandstanding at the log. Singing at the log is total teamwork.”

Nelson also elaborated why the dances are done barefoot. “While we are upon this earth, we are of the earth. We dance barefoot to show our understanding of our heritage, our birthright. We dance barefoot to symbolize our continued connection to this earth.”