Students and staff of Zeballos Elementary Secondary School greeted hundreds of guests that honoured their invitation to take part in their school potlatch.
School buses began arriving in Zeballos on the morning of May 26. Guests came from Port Alberni, Gold River, Kyuquot, Coal Harbour and Port Hardy. The schools they represented were Haahuupayuk, Ray Watkins Elementary School, Gold River Secondary School, Quatsino K’ak’ot’lats’I School, and Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw School.
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The school potlatch is a regional event held every year by a school in Zeballos, Gold River or Kyuquot on Vancouver Island. The teachers, students and parents begin preparing for the potlatch usually before Christmas and that was true this year, said ZESS principal Wayne Alsop, with students working on potlatch gifts around Christmas time.
Drawing from resources in the community, Alsop said artist Vince Smith helped by making designs for the students to paint. Parents and other interested community members met weekly to help with the making of gifts.
“Florence John is our school elder and she is the head of the potlatch committee,” Alsop said. Margret Miller took charge of making regalia and gifts while Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker (NEW), Celina Charleson, helped with art.
Nuu-chah-nulth Education Worker Sheila John and Stacey Miller, an SD84 Child and Youth Care Worker, took part in planning and organizing the potlatch.
Principal Alsop said the preparations for the school potlatch and the potlatch itself count toward the students’ culture and language credits.
Ehattesaht First Nation contributed to the potlatch by providing funding for resource people and several Ehattesaht volunteered their time during weekly meetings to make gifts or to practise culture.
Everyone gathered at the school playground for a soup and sandwich lunch. Students from Haahuu-Payuk School showed their gratitude by singing a dinner song and a prayer was said before people ate lunch.
Following lunch everyone gathered in the gym where the ceremonial curtain was on display. ZESS graduate Judae Smith told Ha-Shilth-Sa that the curtain designs represented four schools in Gold River, Tahsis, Zeballos and Kyuquot, and that all schools share the curtain, bringing it to their community when it’s their turn to host the annual potlatch.
Principal Alsop welcomed everyone to the School District 84 potlatch and acknowledged the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, SD84 and NEW staff for their support in making the potlatch happen.
Dennis John and Jimmy Johnson guided the students through an important first step of any potlatch, the cleansing or blessing of the floor. The hosts then offered ta’ilthma (support) to several guests who lost loved ones in their family. Each was lovingly wrapped in blankets.
The hosts performed two dances before guests were invited to perform. Haahuupayuk students were the first guest group to perform.
“We’re very honoured to be here; we’ve heard what you’ve been doing for the past few years and we are pleased,” said Haahuupayuk cultural teacher Trevor Little. His first order of business was to shake hands with the Ha’wiih, because, he said, it is important to hold up the leaders of our land, for without them, we have no direction.
Both culture teachers, Little and Lena Ross carefully explained where each of their songs came from and why they do each one.
The cii’qa, or prayer chant, Ross explained, was newly composed for the students of Haahuupayuk. “The kids use it when we’re doing big business like Hinkeets dances; they know it is important to talk to the Creator first – and it’s also intended to help them prepare for when they graduate Grade 7 and move on to other schools. It helps them ground themselves,” she explained.
Haahuupayuk students performed several dances that included brilliant regalia and headdresses, to the delight of the audience.
The next group to take the floor came from Port Hardy. The students of Gwa’sala-Nakwaxda’xw School did several performances under the guidance of their cultural teachers William Wasden Jr. and K’iodi Nelson.
“We are happy to see that we’re not the only ones doing what we’re doing in our school,” said Nelson. He was pleased to see the display of culture, alive and vibrant in the neighboring Nuu-chah-nulth communities.
“It gives me great energy to see our children celebrating their culture; it was not all that long ago when the Canadian government banned this,” he said.
Both Wasden and Nelson also carefully explained the stories behind each of their performances. While there are differences in culture there was one strong similarity. The eagle down fluttering from their headdresses during a dance, said Wasden, represented peace and harmony.
Dances and presentations continued until dinner time. Principal Alsop said there were more performances that they didn’t get to simply because they ran out of time. Students and their teachers had long distances to travel and needed to get home before it got too late.
Kyuquot Elementary Secondary School will host the 2017 SD84 potlatch.
