The Dancers of Damelahamid in
collaboration with UBC Museum of Anthropology and the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad co-present
3-5 PM SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17, MARCH 2 & 16, 2008
UBC MUSEUM OF
ANTHROPOLOGY click here for directions
Performances
included with regular admission
Admission to MOA is free for persons of Aboriginal ancestry
We yah hani nah Coastal First Nations Dance Festival will present a rich diversity of traditional First Nations dance groups from the coast of British Columbia & the Yukon in a series of performances in the great hall of the UBC Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, BC. It will take place on three Sunday afternoons in partnership with the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad.
This festival will be titled “We yah hani nah” after the feast song belonging to the Dakhumhast House and used to welcome visitors to witness at a feast. It was traditionally danced with steaks of salmon which is the staple food for the peoples of the coast. Chief Kenneth Harris, holder of the title Hagbegwatku, is the head chief of the Dakhumhast House and a member of the Dancers of Damelahamid. It is through his authority that, as members of the Dakhumhast House, the Dancers of Damelahamid have the right to host “We yah hani nah”.
Sunday
February 17, 2008 3-5 pm
Gilhast Dancers – Gitksan
First Peoples Performances -
Tagish/Tlingit
Dancers of Damelahamid – Gitksan
Sunday
March 2, 2008 3-5 pm
Eagle
Song Dancers – Squamish
Git Hayetsk Dancers – Nisga’a/Tsimshian
Dancers of Damelahamid – Gitksan
Sunday
March 16, 2008 3-5 pm
Le
la la Dancers – Kwakwaka’wakw
Copper
Maker Dancers – Kwakwaka’wakw
Dancers of Damelahamid – Gitksan
Copresented with: 
We ackknowldege
the support of: 
The Gilhast Dancers Present - Land of the Totems
The Gilhast Dancers are a very proud, honorable people with a strong connection to our past, the present and the future. Our goals are simply to promote the culture of the Gitxsan people, language, pride, self-esteem and confidence among the Gilhast dancers. We maintain our songs, dances and oral history (Adawak) of our lineage and affirm our cultural identity in the community through theater, song and dance choreography so our family will retain their Gitxsan heritage.
Artistic
Director: Vincent Jackson
My hereditary title is Wii Yugadets, Which interpreted means “the
great blanket that covers his people”. I am Gitxsan from the House
of Haxbegwootxw of Laxyip Tamlaxamid and as a child I was introduced to
the Gitxsan Nation to be the successor of my late uncle Eli Turner (former
holder of Wii Yugadets) first then my uncle Ken Harris (Haxbegwootxw)
and was raised and trained accordingly in the traditional manner of our
Hereditary Feast Protocol.
First Peoples Performances - Tagish/Tlingit
First People's
Performances began in May of 2007 and is based in Carcross, Yukon, a small
northern community located fifty miles inland from the Alaskan coast.
The group is comprised of many dancers who have been participating in
their traditional singing and dancing since they were babies and small
children. The group consists of members from the Carcross/Tagish First
Nation, Teslin Tlingit Council, Kwanlin Dun First Nation and the Vuntut
Gwitchen First Nation. First People’s Performances focuses on bringing
their traditional stories into life through dramatization, song, dance,
drumming, storytelling and multi-media. It is their vision to continue forward in developing their theatre company to draw the attention of audiences
to their culture, their story and the issues that they feel are important
to share in both historical and contemporary terms. The main focus of
First People’s Performances is to bring opportunity of cultural
revitalization and social transformation within our community by reclaiming
our traditional values by singing the songs of our ancestors.
All of the members began dancing when they were children and honour their
teachers; Angela Sidney, George Dawson, Clara Schinkel, Doris Mclean and
many many more elders who have provided guidance, support and traditional
teachings to the group over the years. First People's Performances is
happy to share with you some of their traditional Tlingit and Tagish (Athapaskan)
songs, drumming and dances.
The Dancers of Damelahamid
The Dancers of Damelahamid
are a traditional Gitksan dance group originally from the Skeena River
in Northwestern, B.C. They present masked dances, stories, and songs belonging
to Simoiget Hagbegwatku, the highest ranking chief of the Dakhumhast House.
Their songs and dances depict their people’s origins, and tell stories
of how their societies grew and flourished. These songs are used to welcome
guests and villagers to a feast and reenact important events in their
history.
Chief Ken Harris & Elder Margaret Harris were instrumental in reviving First Nations culture of the Northwest coast during the 1960's-1980's in Prince Rupert, BC. For twenty years they hosted the annual "Yaw Hawni naw" festival at Fishermans Hall in Prince Rupert. They also taught the rich cultural heritage belonging to the Dakhumhast House to their children, grandchildren, nieces & nephews. It is this next generation of the Dakhumhast that has carried on in the footsteps of their elders and established the "We yah hani nah Coastal First Nations Dance Festival" in Vancouver.
As hosts for the festival, the Dancers of Damelahamid will draw from their extensive repetoire to present a different set of dances for each of the three festival dates and welcome the many visitiors to this celebration of coastal dance.
Eagle Song Dancers
Spakwus Slolem, (translated,"Eagle Song Dancers), are members of the Squamish Nation. Geographically located in what is called the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. Our traditional territory being the Howe Sound, Vancouver to Whistler area. The Squamish have lived and utilized this area for over 10,000 years, having history traced back to the Great Flood, and an Ice Age.
We are a Coastal people, people of the cedar longhouses, of the great sea-going canoes, the racing war canoes, People of the Salmon. Our colourful history speaks of things of legend, of deeds of certain members of the Smylaith Tribe (Sasquatch), legends of the Animal Kingdom(i.e., The Raven, Seagull and Sun), which brings out Teachings of our Squamish People, the History of Takaya, the Wolf Clan, one of our Squamish Family's History.
Git
Hayetsk Dancers
Git Hayetsk in Sm’algyax (Tsimshian, Nisga’a and Gitxsan language) means “people of the copper shield”. The copper shield is the most prestigious ceremonial object in Northwest Coast Native culture. It symbolizes wealth, power, prestige, strength and peace and could only be owned by the most high-ranking people. This is the standards of artistry to which the Git Hayetsk Dancers follow.
The Git Hayetsk Dancers are based out of Vancouver, British Columbia and have been performing as a group since 1999. The dancers are from many different nations, including Tsimshian, Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Haida, Tlingit and Haisla. This group takes pride in the fact that only traditional hand-made regalia, masks, skin and box drums are used to perform their ancient and contemporary songs and dances.
The Git Hayetsk Dancers have performed at traditional feasts and potlatches as well as conferences and other urban gatherings. The Git Hayetsk Dancers have performed and shared their culture in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Ohio, Hawaii, Washington DC, Ontario, Austria, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, and across British Columbia.
LE-LA-LA Dancers Present- Spirit of the Masks
The
Le-La-La Dancers are a Victoria based First Nations Dance Troupe. The
group have been together for over 20 years, under the artistic direction
of George Taylor, and have traveled throughout the world sharing their
culture. Le-La-La means “traveling from here to there” in
the Kwakwaka’wakw language.
“Spirit of the Masks” dance presentation is a narrated demonstration of traditional songs and dances. Messages of respect and honour for each other, as well as towards our environment and all that live on Mother Earth are sent throughout the performance. The performers use carved cedar masks, headdresses, drums, rattles and button blankets to depict the ancient legends of animals and spirits within their culture. The variety of dances include the Bear, Raven, Whale, Thunderbird, the Transformation Echo, and the Chiefs Peace dance. All the dances and songs originate since time beyond recollection, from the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples ceremony called the Potlatch. The potlatch word means “to give” and it is the traditional way to express joy and mark important life occasions such as the naming of children, marriage, transferring rights and privileges and mourning the dead. It is a time of pride- a time for showing the masks and dances owned by the family giving the potlatch.
The Le-La-La Dancers of the Kwakwaka’wakw Nation take great pride and honour in presenting and sharing their rich culture and heritage through “Spirit of the Masks”
The Copper Maker Dancers
The Copper Maker Dancers are a professional Kwakiutl dance group from the village of Tsakis (Fort Rupert) located just south of Port Hardy BC on Vancouver Island. Over the past 30 years, the Copper Maker Dancers continue to share the legacy of our people and the continuing traditions of our chiefs and elders. Dance performances include many of the inherited rights and privileges of our Kwakiutl families following the traditional Potlatch system. Founded by Chief Calvin Hunt and his wife Marie, the Copper Maker Dancers is composed of friends and relatives of the Hunt Family from Fort Rupert. Over the past several decades the group has performed throughout Canada and the United States, many European countries, Australia and Japan.
