Walk of the Nations in the News
Community not going to let NAIG 2008 bond slip away
Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial
By Krista Siefken
When it comes to cultural acceptance and understanding, Cowichan definitely talks the talk.
“But,” says Walk of the Nations co-organizer Jenn George, “we need to literally walk the walk.”
Which is why the Walk of the Nations is back for a second year, and why the event that promotes cultural connections has doubled in size.
“This year we’ve decided to expand the event to a two-day festival, so instead of just having the community come together for a couple of hours during the walk, we’re going to have a second day to showcase what’s going on in our community,” said George.
“We’ve had to reinvent the event now that it’s a two-day festival and it’s really taken on a life of its own,” added co-organizer Ryan Bruce. “It’s coming together as an exhibition of all things cultural.”
The free Walk of the Nations festival starts 3 p.m. Saturday in downtown Duncan, with a host of performers ranging from the Tzinquaw dancers and a group of youth drummers to the world music beats of Jon Bone and the Karuna Movement.
On Sunday, meanwhile, the walk’s namesake starts at 1:30 p.m. at Centennial Park, when hundreds are expected to walk to the Quw’utsun Cultural Centre where a second, shorter set of entertainment is planned.
The festival was made possible with a $14,000 Canadian Heritage grant, received by Social Planning Cowichan toward the Walk of the Nations. A full list of entertainers and activities, meanwhile, can be found on the Walk of the Nations Facebook group or at www.walkofthenations.ca.
“To walk together is great, and to expand on that with this two-day event we hope to once again relive some of those moments we experienced during the summer of NAIG (North American Indigenous Games),” said George.
And the Walk of the Nations is just one of the many legacies of the 2008 games in Cowichan.
“That legacy continues to live on, and through this event we hope to once each year bring all that back together and showcase what’s been going on, and how we’ve built on that social legacy,” added George.
“It doesn’t matter where we come from: there’s a universal need for belonging,” reasoned Ray Anthony, the community bridging co-ordinator at the Cowichan Intercultural Society. “And having a community where we can all feel that sense of belonging makes for a more resilient community.”
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1 year later: legacy of NAIG lives on
From the Cowichan Valley Citizen, August 21, 2009
by Lexi Bainas
The social legacy of the North American Indigenous Games continues in the Cowichan Valley with planning already under way for community-building events.
Social Planning Cowichan has decided to create a Cowichan Cultural Connections Council to continue to build and encourage cultural relationships in the Cowichan Region by carrying forward the positive, boundary-crossing vision of NAIG.
If it can help serve as a catalyst for reconciliation by building new and meaningful relationships among families, communities and governments, the group will have accomplished its mission, SPC's Michelle Nowzek said this week.
The Council honors that vision with a spirit of "Nuts' amat Shq waluwn," which is Hul'qumi'num for "One Mind, One Heart, for the Good of All."
NAIG's CEO Rick Brant said this week, "The vision to bring the North American Indigenous Games to Cowichan had much to do with the desire for reconciliation. In the end, I believe that the Games unified the community through our collective efforts to stage the largest event ever held in the region."
While delivering the best-ever NAIG was a focal point, leaving a positive and lasting imprint on the region was a corporate mantra and Brant says he finds it reassuring to see that Social Planning Cowichan has established the Council and brought together community leaders committed to furthering the meaningful relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people that were established through Cowichan 2008.
The Council is comprised of key leaders in the Cowichan Region representing local government, including Aboriginal government officials, organizations, agencies, associations and businesses. They all have a strong commitment to community and to the value of building bridges between all cultures in the Valley, according to Nowzek.
Education, facilitation, and communication about cultural activities and programs in the Cowichan Region are an important aspect of the group's work.
Currently, the Council is developing a comprehensive plan and has identified two major initiatives: the second annual Walk of the Nations and an online Community Cultural Calendar.
Building on the success of last year's Walk of the Nations, the committee is anticipating some very interesting changes for this year's event.
Under the leadership of Jenn K. George and Ryan Bruce, the Walk of the Nations Committee is planning a two-day festival.
Proposed dates for the 2009 Walk of the Nations Festival are Oct. 3-4 and Cowichan Chief Lydia Hwitsum is enthusiastic.
"It's a positive reason for everyone in the community to come together and, in the process continue to build on relationships that were formed during last summer's North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) and also to support the work of the newly formed, Cowichan Cultural Connections Council," she said.
If you would like to join the Walk of the Nations sub-committee or find out other ways you can help, contact Jenn K. George at 250-701-8381. You can also check out the newly improved website, www.walkofthenations.ca
The second initiative is a community calendar which will be a way to highlight and share information about cultural events, gatherings, meetings and celebrations in the Cowichan Region, including those that are ongoing. If you have information about any such initiatives we would like to hear from you! To contact Social Planning Cowichan, call 250-746-1004 ext. 250 or e-mail info@socialplanningcowichan.org
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Cowichan Walk of the Nations Event
Scheduled for Oct 3 & 4, 2009
From the Western Native News, August 2009
by John Copley
There's a two day festival taking place in the Cowichan Valley at the beginning of October and festival organizers are encouraging Vancouver Islanders, mainlanders and visitors to add this extraordinary event to their fall calendar of things-to-do.
"We've already been getting some positive feedback from the community at large and if last year's inaugural event is any indication," said Jenn George, one of the organizers of the Cowichan Tribes-hosted, Cowichan Walk of the Nations event, "this year's participants can expect to once again have a great time as we walk together in celebration of the acceptance, understanding and reconciliation of all people."
The 2009 Cowichan Walk of the Nation event, initially created as a legacy of the Cowichan 2008 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG), has been expanded from one day to two, a decision organizers made after recognizing just how well received last year's event was with the public.
"We had more than 1,300 people from all over the region walking together last year," said George, "and we anticipate that that number will grow somewhat this year. The response and feedback we received after the 2008 Walk has encouraged us to add another day, and a multicultural festival to our agenda."
In addition to being championed by the Cowichan Tribes, the Walk of the Nations is widely supported by local governments and by many Cowichan Valley businesses and organizations. This year's event will take place on Sunday, October 4, the day after the festival.
"On Saturday, October 3, we will host a multicultural festival that will include a variety of performers and artisans from the region who will be strutting their stuff and showcasing their wares at the Duncan City Square," noted George. "The Walk will begin from downtown Duncan the next day and will finish at the Qu'wutsun Cultural and Conference Centre, a distance of about one kilometre."
The Walk organizers are working hard to ensure that this year and next, the whole community is in some way involved in the annual walk. Jenn George said the organizing committee is also making a concerted effort to ensure that more schools and community groups are involved in the event.
Chief Lydia Hwitsum called the annual Walk of the Nations a community event and thus "a positive reason for everyone in the community to come together." She said the annual walk is good way "to continue to build on the relationships that were formed during last summer's North American Indigenous Games (NAIG)," (and that is is "also a good way to support the work of the newly formed Cowichan Cultural Connections Council (CCCC)"
Social Planning Cowichan created the Cowichan Cultural Connections Council for the purpose of continuing to build and encourage cultural relationships in the Cowichan Region. Building on the vision created by NAIG 2008, "a catalyst for reconciliation, building new and meaningful relationships among families, communities and governments," the Cultural Connections Council "intends to act as a catalyst to build bridges between cultures with the same "Nuts' amat Shq waluwn" spirit: Hul'q'umi'num for "One Mind, One Heart, for the Good of All."
The Council is comprised of key leaders in the Cowichan Region representing local government, including Aboriginal government officials, organizations, agencies, associations and businesses. The Council members, assured George, "have a strong commitment to community, and to the value of building bridges between all cultures in the Valley."
Those participating in the October 3-4 Cowichan Walk of the Nations event will be treated to some special entertainment and some unique songs, including a tri-lingual anthem that will performed in English, French and Hul'q'umi'num, the traditional language of the Cowichan people.
"The community-based group, Bopoma, will also be on hand to offer the music of Zimbabwe and South Africa," added George, "as will a very talented group of Tibetan musicians. The Happy Friend Singers, a group comprised of both non-Native and Native children and their parents, will also be performing some of their songs. This group writes and performs Hul'q'umi'num songs designed for the younger generation."
Another community group, the Cowichan Spirit Drummers, which includes both Native and non-Native drummers, will also be performing some of the traditional songs of the Cowichan people. The group, which comprises more than 200 people, was formed during NAIG 2008, and will be performing under the direction of Cowichan Elders.
Also participating and volunteering at the 2009 Walk is a group of Canada World Youth (CWY) members aged 18 to 24, who will be flying to Mozambique, Africa on November 30 where they will participate in a three-month exchange of information project that will deal primarily with the promotion of a healthy community and a healthy population. CWY has been involved with the enhancement of youth since its inception in 1971. The organization strives towards the development of international educational programs for youth aged 15 to 25. CWY works with countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and has so far made it possible for more than 31,000 young people from 67 countries to have safe and meaningful international experiences as they learn about other cultures while contributing to the well-being of their own communities.
The Cowichan Tribes is the largest single First Nation in British Columbia. With more than 4,000 members, about half of whom live in the community, the Cowichan Tribes includes seven traditional villages. The group looks after a variety of its own member services, including Children and Families, Education, Health, Housing and Social Development.
For more information about the 2009 Walk of the Nations event, call Jenn George at 250-701-8381 or checkout the website at www.walkofthenations.ca.
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Get ready to walk
From the September 24, 2008 Cowichan News Leader and Pictorial:
By Krista Siefken
The Walk of the Nations is just a week away and organizers are working hard to make sure the event lives up to its name.
Mark Buchanan, who is organizing the walk's end program, hopes to see a strong showing from all of Cowichan's cultures at the Sunday, Oct. 5 event.
"We're really trying to create something that represents the entire community," he told the News Leader Pictorial.
The Walk of the Nations is one of the legacies of the North American Indigenous Games. Thousands are anticipated to walk side by side from Clements Street to the Quw'utsun' Cultural Centre next weekend in an effort to continue forging stronger community ties in Cowichan.
And in addition to community residents, organizers like Buchanan, Jenn George and Ryan Bruce are encouraging attendance from across the island and even from other countries. For example, visitors from Kenya participating in Canada World Youth's exchange program in the valley have been invited to perform at the end of the Walk of the Nations.
"That diversity and unity is what we picture," said Buchanan.
Other cross-cultural components during the event include the national anthem sung in Hul'qumi'num, English and French, and a performance by a group of Native and non-Native children singing nursery rhymes in the Coast Salish language.
The Cowichan Spirit Drummers have also agreed to perform at the end of the walk.
"The response and the support have just been enormous,"said George.
And while Buchanan said the end program won't be a long one, he promises it will have a lot of heart — just like the walk itself.
"This matters to us, that this community walks in unity," he said. "More than anything else, we want to make a declaration to the community that what was started at the North American Indigenous Games is going to continue."
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