SFU Indigenous Day

         Traditional songs and dances were stories handed down through families. Between this sharing of tradition the family of elders, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, sons, daughters created a rich and caring familial bonding. This bonding is the backbone and strength of a culture.
          The laws to facilitate assimilation of the aboriginal people strove to negate the traditions, thus robbing the people of this strength. Legally kidnapping children, imprisoning them, torturing them, forbidding them of their language, spirituality, family bonding. The 'schools' were only shut down in 1996, so, this recent history has effected the generations detrimentally.
         In BC alone, there are almost 200 different bands and nations and around 30 different aboriginal languages. This means there is a large diverse number of dances, culture, and traditions. We are not all the same and it is important to recognize this because it is one of the main reasons for putting on Indigenous days for the first nation student society.  These songs and dances give the first nation peoples a sense of  personal empowerment that is also healing.

We had the Git Hayetsk dancers; KwhliGbaku dancers; Kulu dancers; Urban Kwakwak'awiku Cultural group; Tzo'any and Gtsatsu Stalquyu dancers perform.