Students create first Burnaby Mountain powwow in honour of Indigenous students

The SFU First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Association (FNMISA) is excited to host an inaugural powwow at Burnaby campus, to celebrate the end of the school year and honour the achievements of Indigenous students past and present.

“This is something the association has wanted to put together for a long time,” says Kali King Stierle, a fifth year student at SFU and treasurer for FNMISA. Her older sister, Raven King Stierle, is in her first year at SFU as a transfer student, and serves as FNMISA’s Indigenous Community and External Affairs, Special Events Coordinator. The King Stierles are of German, Métis and Cree descent, from Peepeekisis Cree Nation in Treaty 4 territory, Saskatchewan. Together, they make up the FNMISA Powwow organizing committee.

Kali, who has been on the association’s board for four years, describes past members’ efforts to bring this form of ceremony to Burnaby campus, unfortunately set aside by the COVID-19 pandemic. While many are now alumni, they have continued to support the organization of the powwow.

For the pair, the ceremony’s purpose is not only to honour the journey undertaken by Indigenous students, but to share culture, build relationships and celebrate as one.

“It’s about community, and it’s not just for the Indigenous community,” says Kali, who emphasizes that settlers and newcomers are also welcome to attend. “It’s about promoting awareness and sharing knowledge about Indigenous community and culture. This is about building and strengthening connections.”

Powwows are a ceremony and celebration involving drumming, singing and dancing. There are two types of powwow, explain the King Stierles – traditional and competition. In the traditional format, all performers receive a small honorarium for their participation, while in competition, the performers compete for larger monetary awards in their respective categories.

By hosting a traditional powwow, the King Stierles hope to make the event accessible to all and support their goal of building bridges among community members.

“Competition powwows can be a little intimidating to new dancers because they are competing for money, and it’s not just the dancing that’s being judged. It’s the regalia you’re wearing, how well you carry that regalia, how you honour that regalia,” says Raven. “Traditional powwows are a little bit more accessible to new dancers or dancers that may not have a full regalia set yet. So you see a more diverse mix of dancers who have been dancing for years and dancers who have just started.”

“Both are ceremonial,” says Kali, “but competition has higher stakes.”

“It’s not a performance that we’re putting on, it’s a ceremony that we’re actively taking part in,” says Raven. “Even for those who aren’t dancing, spectators and attendees are actively participating.” She adds that this powwow is intertribal. “It’s something we can share with all nations."

While powwows originate from the prairies and are not traditional to the west coast, the diaspora of Indigenous communities in B.C. have led to its practice locally.

“It becomes a fusion–it is that exchanging of culture across territories,” says Raven. “There’s almost a west coast taste. It makes the ceremony feel like it’s rooted in place and is specific to this community.”

Community has been central to the sisters’ learning and planning. The pair frequently attend powwow nights in Vancouver, gifting tobacco as thanks for others’ teachings.

“We can’t take credit for all this,” say the King Stierles. “There are a lot of other Indigenous community members who have helped us conceptualize this and also make it happen.”