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Festival celebrates Indigenous cultures through art forms once banned
The 19th annual festival features Indigenous and international artists sustaining cultural practices outlawed under the potlatch ban, with performances in languages including Gitxsan.
- The 19th Coastal Dance Festival opened at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster and continues at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver until Sunday, with Dancers of Damelahamid performing on March 4, 2026.
- Framed by the legacy of the potlatch ban, the festival positions performances as acts of cultural reclamation, with Indigenous performers from across B.C. celebrating artistry 75 years after the ban ended.
- Clad in regalia and masks, performers perform Tsimshian mask dancing, Sami yoiking, and a song composed by Raven Grenier for a mountain-goat transformation mask carved with goat wool, she said.
- Bringing regalia, songs and stories into the museum serves as part of a healing process, organizers said, sustaining multi-generational songs and dances to connect with audiences and next-generation learners.
- Participants call the event a gathering of stories and spirit that nurtures one another, fostering cultural continuity and hopes that young people will carry traditions forward, organizers said.
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28 Articles
The Toronto Star+25 Reposted by 25 other sources
Festival celebrates Indigenous cultures through art forms once banned
VANCOUVER
·Toronto, Canada
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Festival celebrates Indigenous cultures through art forms once banned – Energeticcity.ca
VANCOUVER — Clad in colourful regalia and intricate masks, the Dancers of Damelahamid perform an art form that was once outlawed in Canada. Now, 75 years after the end of the potlatch ban that forbade Indigenous cultural and artistic expression, the group is among dozens of Indigenous performers taking part in a festival that celebrates their artistry through stories, song and dance. The 19th annual Coastal Dance Festival opened at the Anvil Cen…
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Total News Sources28
Leaning Left20Leaning Right1Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution83% Left
Bias Distribution
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83% Left
L 83%
13%
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