Earl Marriott Secondary Semiahmoo First Nation Pow Wow returns after three-year hiatus
After three years, the Earl Marriott Semiahmoo First Nation Pow Wow is returning to form this weekend, continuing a tradition of more than 25 years for the South Surrey and White Rock community.
Indigenous drumming and dancing are coming back to the home of the Mariners as the Earl Marriott Semiahmoo First Nation Pow Wow makes its long-awaited return.
The three-day community event, taking place March 31 to April 2 at the Surrey school, is an educational showcase of Indigenous culture and art, organized by the school’s First Nations program. The powwow features a ceremony on each day with music, food and artwork, all highlighting the history of the Semiahmoo First Nation (SFN) and local territory.
“We talk to students about the history of the First Nations program at our school, what powwow is, what it means and why it’s important,” said teacher Mark Figueira. “Our MC and staff talk to them about the powwow weekend and do some dancing and drumming. They also talk about the importance of drums in First Nations culture.”
Started in 1996 by then-principal Margaux Molson with then-teacher and current Deputy Supt. Andrew Holland, the program and subsequent powwow was the vision of the late SFN Grand Chief Bernard Charles as a way to support the school’s Indigenous students. Now, with the B.C. government’s incoming Indigenous-Focused Graduation Requirement, Figueira said the program and powwow complement the district’s ongoing efforts to educate students on Indigenous culture and history.
“In its original carnation, Grand Chief Bernard Charles wanted to really connect with a lot of the Semiahmoo First Nation students at the school, and it was his dream to move this idea of a First Nations club and program forward so that Earl Marriott students could become more connected,” he said. “Over the years, it’s really evolved, and it’s fit in very nicely with the curriculum redesign and the truth and reconciliation recommendations.
“It seems like a natural fit but we’ve been doing this for the better part of 25 years. It’s just been kind of seamless.”
Approximately 1,000 people are expected to attend the powwow, with more than 60 vendors selling and showcasing Indigenous artwork and crafts. A number of people are coming from areas such as Mount Currie in the Lillooet-Squamish region and Cache Creek in B.C.’s southern interior.
“It’s a big event for our First Nations students, it’s a chance for them to see some of their relatives who have travelled long distances and reacquaint themselves with drumming and dancing, that inner power and spirit that it brings,” he said. “The drumming is a cultural thing but it’s also a spiritual thing too, and it’s really important for them.”
In addition to the powwow festivities, attendees can see the school’s welcome figures designed by Cen’Alien Master Carver Leonard Wells, as well as the I Am Semiahmoo display courtesy of the Surrey Museum & Archives, laying out a timeline of the SFN on the peninsula.
“It’s a powwow but it’s also educating people, letting them know this is the territory of the Semiahmoo people who have been here for millennia,” said Figueira. “We really couldn’t do it without the help of the Semiahmoo First Nation and our staff, volunteers and students.”
The Earl Marriott Semiahmoo First Nation Pow Wow is open to the general public, with admission by donation. The hours are as follows:
Friday, March 31 – 5-9 p.m.
- 5 p.m. – Doors Open
- 6:30 p.m. – Drum Roll Call & Drum Song
- 7 p.m. – Grand Entry Invocation
Saturday, April 1 – 12-9 p.m.
- Noon – Doors Open
- 12:30 p.m. – Drum Roll Call & Drum Song
- 1 p.m. – Grand Entry
- 7 p.m. – Evening Grand Entry
Sunday, April 2 – 12-5 p.m.
- Noon – Doors Open
- 12:30 p.m. – Drum Roll Call & Drum Song
- 1 p.m. – Grand Entry
