Following the annual Spring Equinox Smudge Ceremony at Main St. & Hastings St, the Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts presents the Nighthawk Aboriginal Arts and Music Festival, a one-day event celebrating traditional and contemporary indigenous art.
Blending storytelling, drumming, music, and visual arts into the waterfront landscape of Crab Park, this festival showcases the best of Vancouver’s indigenous arts community. Presented in a village-like setting, the festival features live music, drum and dance performances, and an artisan village with food and children’s activities. Traditional practices such as carving, birch-bark biting and drum-making will be demonstrated.
A festival for everyone, the Nighthawk Aboriginal Arts and Music Festival is an authentic cultural experience not to be missed. Artists include the Murray Porter Band, Git Hayetsk Dancers, Sandy Scofield Band, Dalannah Gail Bowen with Straight-Up and the Red Blanket Singers.
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 standard 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 Nisga’a, Tsimshian, 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, Wisconsin, Manitoba, Ontario, Austria, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, and across British Columbia.
