Indigenous students at SFU hold first powwow

A first-of-its-kind event is coming to Burnaby Mountain this Saturday.

When you walk into the West Gym on Simon Fraser University (SFU) campus at noon on April 22, expect to bask in an electric atmosphere with the sound of drums filling the air as the crowd gathers for a traditional powwow ceremony, hosted for the first time by students at SFU.

An event that was several years in the making, partly because it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, is finally seeing the light of the day, in no small part because of the efforts of sisters Kali King Stierle and Raven King Stierle.

The sisters, or “the dynamic-duo” as they call themselves, are both SFU students.

Kali, a fifth-year student and treasurer for the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Association (FNMISA) is joining hands with her older sister, Raven, who is FNMISA’s Indigenous community and external affairs and special events co-ordinator, to bring the traditional Indigenous powwow ceremony to Burnaby Mountain and celebrate the achievements of Indigenous students, both past and present.

The King Stierles, who are of Métis, Cree and German descent from Peepeekisis Cree Nation in Treaty 4 territory, Saskatchewan, spoke to the NOW about their experience organizing the ceremony, to which people of all ages, races, and communities are invited to come together to learn and celebrate the wealth of Indigenous culture and knowledge.

“We wanted that opportunity to have a public event where we can build bridges between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community, and show the amazing work that's being done by Indigenous students,” Kali said.

For Kali, the experience organizing a traditional powwow ceremony felt like “walking in two worlds” — because she is balancing reconciliation and the indigenous ceremonial aspect of it with the community aspect, and logistics of hosting an event of this scale.

“There’s a teaching where you, as an Indigenous person, sometimes have to learn the balance and the art of walking into worlds.” she said. “Because you'll be a student, you carry your cultures and teachings from your community. Yet, you're also sometimes walking in a world that is unfamiliar to you, an institution that's not normally designed for Indigenous hearts, minds and bodies. Carrying both parts of yourself.”

The sisters said while powwows ceremonies are not traditional to the West Coast, they were able to work along with the host nations of the territories in the west to organize this event.

The sisters hope that everyone can join the ceremony for the grand entry that starts at noon, observe the traditional dance, savour a traditional Indigenous dinner and stopp by the Indigenous vendors for clothes, arts and crafts.

They added that they are proud of being able to create a safe space for the Indigenous community to celebrate their culture and have the non-Indigenous community to celebrate with them.

“It's been such a such a fulfilling and exciting experience,” they said. “We've been engaging Indigenous students all throughout — like our head lady dancer, which is very honourable position in our community, is an Indigenous student at SFU. The head man dancer is an alumni. We've got students at all levels throughout this process.”

They hope that this inaugural Honouring Indigenous Students Powwow will be the first of many.

The traditional Indigenous Students Powwow will be preceded by a special announcement regarding the First Peoples’ Gathering House at the SFU campus, which is to be completed in 2024.