Journeys & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes

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NATURE

· Vanishing Natural Habitat

FIRST PEOPLES

· First Nations in the City

HISTORY

· Seeking a New Home

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FOCUS Vancouver and Victoria

First Nations in the City

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Brochure cover

Cover of a brochure with a Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw

Kwakwa̱ka̱'wakw

copper designed by Chief Tony Hunt.Victoria Native Friendship Centre.




		The Victoria Native Friendship Centre Victoria remains a First Nations centre. The city is home to aboriginal people from many other communities and traditions, as well as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations, on whose ancestral lands the city was built, and neighbouring T'souke and Saanich First Nations. The Victoria Native Friendship Centre provides services to an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 aboriginal people living off- and on-reserve in the Greater Victoria area. A nonprofit organization with an aboriginal board of directors and an aboriginal staff, the Victoria Native Friendship Centre has been in continuous operation for over 30 years, improving the quality of life for First Peoples in Victoria and supporting people from all indigenous cultures who are making a transition to the urban environment. Programs are offered on education and employment, health and social services, culture, community relations, housing, recreation and youth.


Salish Symbiosis, designed by Leslie Sam, Coast Salish artist. Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

		The Walking With Our Ancestors Celebration, previously known as the First Peoples Festival, which takes place every summer on the grounds of the Royal British Columbia Museum, is a Victoria Native Friendship Centre program. This celebration of friendship and understanding is now in its twentieth year. Each year, as many as 300 artists, presenters, storytellers and musicians are involved, as well as 100 volunteers and approximately 35,000 visitors.
Coast Salish dancers at Walking With Our Ancestors. Leslie McGarry.


Children share in the dancing at Walking With Our Ancestors. Leslie McGarry.

		During the festival, artists from many First Nations demonstrate and sell their works in Thunderbird Park and the museum plaza. Traditional performances in (the Mungo Martin House, a bighouse in Thunderbird Park) provide visitors with a glimpse of the ceremonial aspects of First Nations cultures; family programs and storytelling are ways of sharing the stories, histories and cultural values of First Nations. The Walking With Our Ancestors Celebration has made substantial contributions toward increasing public awareness about the diversity of First Peoples cultures and traditions.


Visitors at Walking With Our Ancestors. Leslie McGarry.


Viewing First Nations arts and crafts at Walking With Our Ancestors. Leslie McGarry.


Raven dancer at Walking With Our Ancestors. Victoria Native Friendship Centre.

First Nations in the City -


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