First Nations

It was an honour to meet Chief Andy Carvill and celebrate with the Tagish First Nation in Carcross, Yukon, as they opened a new learning center and cultural building. A highlight was the Dakhká Khwáan Drum and Dance group.

It was so good to be back with Uncle Willie and Auntie Gracie in Tahltan country (northern BC). This was the second year that we had been invited to take part in their music festival, this time primarily so we could show them the video footage and recordings we had made from the previous year, although I did get a chance to ‘bash some skins’ with a few bands! They were so moved at a private viewing that they decided to show the film on one of the evenings of the festival.

So where is Tahltan country, I hear you ask? Its in a remote and beautiful part of northern BC with the north/western border running parallel to the Alaskan/Canadian border, including part of Yukon Territory. The south/eastern border includes the upper Nass tributaries and western half of the Stikine plateau, including the sacred headwaters of the Stikine, Nass and Skeena rivers.

We traveled up from Vancouver, a team representing many different nations, a trailer full of supplies and gifts of food and utilities for the First Nations communities we were going to meet In a car convoy, it took over 18 hours to get to our first stop – Stikine Canyon about 30 mins from Dease Lake BC!