Our Guide to Indigenous Events in Vancouver - April & May 2022
Photo Credit - Lee Robinson, Unsplash
What to see
April 21 - 24 - Coastal Dance Festival
Produced by the Dancers of Damelahamid in partnership with the Anvil Centre, the 15th annual Coastal Dance Festival (CDF) brings Indigenous artists together to share and support one another in a celebration of lived artistic practices. Guest national and international artists have connected the festival with a global community of Indigenous dance. The CDF takes place on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), q̓wainƛən (Kwantlen), and qəyqəyt (Qayqayt) people.
When: April 21-24, 2022
Where: Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia Street, New Westminster
Cost: Free / By Donation / $34
April 16 - May 1 - White Noise
A new play by Taran Kootenhayoo, White Noise is a comedy about two Canadian families who have dinner together for the first time during the Truth and Reconciliation week, White Noise explores what it means to live in Canada from two different paradigms. How do we deal with internalized racism? Do we keep pushing it away and pretend to live safely in our day-to-day?
White noise is the sound you hear until something real happens.
When: April 16 - May 1, 2022
Where: The Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver
Cost: $15 - 35 (Pay what You Will)
April 30 - Dancing to Remember
“Dancing to Remember”, is a curated evening of performances and presentations to raise awareness of MMIWG2S, honour lost loved ones, comfort survivors, as well as mark the 10th Anniversary of Butterflies in Spirit. In addition to Butterflies in Spirit this event features special commissions and performances by Aeriosa, Git Hayetsk Mask Dancers, JB the First Lady, Kin Balam, M'Girl, Sierra Tasi Baker, Spakwus Slulem (Eagle Song Dancers), Tsatsu Stalqayu (Coastal Wolf Pack), and more!
When: April 30, 2022
Where: Vancouver Playhouse
Cost: $15
What to Attend
Soaring 2022 will feature all of the innovative workshops and tradeshow booths that it’s known for, showcasing the many post-secondary and career opportunities available to students, delivered completely online! And, just like the in-person version, Soaring 2022 will highlight many talented and notable Indigenous speakers and performers.
When: May 4-5, 2022
Where: Online
Cost: Free
May 4-5 - Soaring: Indigenous Youth Empowerment Gathering
May 6 - Kw'umut Lelum Presents: Honouring our Sisters
A day of workshops, self-empowerment, and celebration of the power of Indigenous women. This women-only event will feature engaging workshops by and for Indigenous women and femmes, arts and crafts vendors and service providers.
Keynote speaker Ashley Callingbull
Workshop: "The Need to Please" with Lyla Harman
Workshop: "Reclaiming our Power" with Tammie Myles
Workshop: "Matriarch Resistance" with Ivy Richardson
When: May 6, 2022
Where: Vancouver Island Conference Centre
Cost: Free
What to Watch
Cultural Safety Education as the Blueprint for Reconciliation | Len Pierre | TEDxSFU
Len invites his audience on a learning journey of Indigenous cultural safety education and training. He touches on the history of Canadian and Indigenous relations, its power imbalances in society, and how Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike can move together towards reconciliation. Len Pierre is a Coast Salish consultant and cultural knowledge keeper specialized in decolonization, reconciliation, development of educational programs, and Indigenization. To him, Bloom means re-birth and a fresh outlook! This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
What to Buy/Support
Pacific FC took the field at Starlight Stadium in Langford, not in the typical purple and teal colourway, but donning a black and white, eye-catching, Indigenous-designed kit that was instantly celebrated online and at the field.
The alternate print was created by Coast Salish artist Maynard Thii Hayqwtun Johnny Jr. and marks the first Indigenous-designed jersey in professional sports history in Canada, according to Pacific FC.
