In early August, one highlight of the Saanich Peninsula area is the Yellow Wolf Intertribal Powwow, but this yearB次元官网网址檚 event has been postponed to give organizers a chance to regroup.
Angel Sampson, one of the main organizers, said this year would have been the 25th anniversary of the family-run event, but Sampson said a number of organizers have faced health issues recently, so they are taking the year off to mentor the next generation of organizers, including volunteers and younger members of the family, so the event can continue into the future. Sampson said one of her brothers (and a fellow organizer) had also died recently, and in their culture, they needed to memorialize him properly in order to continue with the powwow.
B次元官网网址淲e decided itB次元官网网址檚 best just to take the year, considering a number of people are not well,B次元官网网址� she said.
The same family members have been organizing the event for the past 24 years, said Sampson, who is the second youngest of 12.
Of the organizers, six are in their late 50s or early 60s, and a few older sisters in their 80s, so some cannot take on the work that they used to. Sampson said B次元官网网址渢hereB次元官网网址檚 probably about 70 things that need to be taken care of every yearB次元官网网址� like contacting volunteers, booking rental equipment, booking facilities, grocery shopping and cooking.
A non-profit organization runs the powwow, and none of the organizers are paid, said Sampson.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a fun event every year, but itB次元官网网址檚 a lot of work putting it together.
B次元官网网址淲hen we started out, we literally started out with five dollars,B次元官网网址� said Sampson, because the family used to do war canoe races in memory of her father, but felt an event should honour their mother, too.
She was not there to teach the family how to hold a powwow, and Angel was the only family member who was regularly taken to one, so they learned on their own.
Sampson said the biggest powwow she can think of was the year of the 1994 Commonwealth Games, where B次元官网网址渨e had people from every imaginable part of the world,B次元官网网址� due to the Games, including participants from Scotland, Colorado, Vietnam, Korea and a whole tribe of dancers from New Guinea. Participants routinely come from Saskatchewan, Washington State, Idaho, Oregon and Montana.
Sampson thanked the public for their interest every year, and assured them that they would be back.
B次元官网网址淭his is too important of an event for us to let go of.B次元官网网址�
The next Yellow Wolf Intertribal Powwow is tentatively scheduled for next yearB次元官网网址檚 BC Day long weekend: Aug. 2, 3 and 4, 2019, and will likely be at the LAUB次元官网网址橶ELNEW Tribal School in Central Saanich.
For more information or to help out, call Sampson at 250 665 7777 or email idahoangel1920@hotmail.com.
reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com
