‘Ine Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 10, 1994 - AS E DANCE OF NATIONS ers reconnect eir history WITHOUT DANCERS tetting the story of € supernatural beings carved into a pea wae’ 2 pole-raising is incomplete to the Nisga’a people. - When the Nass Valley village of Gitwinksihkkw (Canyon City) began to plan its first pole-raising in 1992, dancers "were needed, '. “You can’t just.put a pole up with noth- . ing else to mark the event,’’ said Clifford . Nyce, one of the 100 Gitwinksihlkw Four- Crest Dancers, ‘‘Our lives are meant to be -- i. Based on ceremonies and feasts and story- =, telling.”” Although the village. didn’t have a dance: ing group, aboul 100 of the villagers ge together for eight dance practices pre ': ing for the October 17, 1992 pole-raisi ’ - While the original purpose of the da “Was to celebrate the local raisi bestowed upon him by his grandfather <. Chief Jacob Nyce. ae a “Mansel was chosen pétause he believes in the old ways andhe wants to lear: about - the:icullure,” “said Dennis “oNyee. “The Halayt was a,clean and pure “-meédicine man and | _ Mansel _Tepresents this, he dance shows the power of the medi-- iné man, with each chorus: of the song ovine ihe different lbvels of his power. “Tt’s really: overwhe re idiing because you da become a different person during the dance,” Griffin said: **The spirit that came into contact with the people of: 100 ‘yeas hilies leave in several The 100 dancers and their: to fast before and I feel kind of guilty Vancouver [sland comm when I deft.” On August 18 the dai give their first Dennis; yce was also honoured when he international performayte at the Com- was agked to perform the dance of the su- monwealth Games,opching ceremonies. pe » Nax nok. ig a mask and covered with cedar : Nyce shows the power of the "trip. i ritgjto affect emotions. noe -To gota.dai p cleo tage Chest Pd never.been under a mask be- efivaes firstifappe mie) Being under a mask is luraging their's ate x “eta : gfe world.” rsd, said Nyce ae of drift away from yourself ye coral kidg dedit. it and - Aas volyed, ” hesrecalls. ¢* As gL ys enters first and have -to ve tiaphere of Gitwinksihlkw has change Since the dancing*performance at the pole- taising. *“‘T've seen a real turn-around since the pole-raising,”” said 21-year-old Griffin, a computer science student at/Nanaimo’s . Malaspina College. *’The village has real- y.come together and wants to learn niore bout the dance.”’ ‘Griffin was chosen to perform the dance Be oF the Halayt or shaman dance, an honour time they are dancing:’ ee : “He feels the dancing has brought’ native oO ulture and pride back tothis village; “T really enjoy doing this because’! was one of the people taken to residential schoo] and was forbidden to. sing the songs,”’ said Nyce. ‘‘I realized T had lost touch with my culture and this has recon- nected me.”” BEHIND THE MASK of the supematural is Gitwinksihlkw Four-Crest dancer Dennis Nyce. The dance of Nax nok or the spirit shows the power and strength of the supematural world. Dusting off the sleeping songs | WITH EACH beat of the drum - . yet another sleeping story of bo a ren memes ae the Tsimshian awakens, since they began. And with every step of the Kitselas Dancers the stories of - their culture are told, some of which haven’t been told for a century. “The song never died,”’ said Vera Henry, one of the 30 Kit- selas Dancers and an elder of the wolf house. ‘It has taken us a while to remember it but we always had it with us.”’ The group started dancing three years ago when the Kit- sclas Band Council asked Or- lando ‘Bossy’? Bolton to organize a group of dancers. ‘Tt was something really new for me as well as every- body else,’’ said Bolton. ‘*We had jo start right from scratch researching songs’ and dances and trying to get people inter- ested.” While it was easy to get older memberzs of the Kilselas community to start dancing, Bolton said, sparking the inter- est of young pecple has been difficult. oe “Tvs very hard to ask tecnagers to come dance,’ he said, ‘‘I don’t know if it’s be- cause they don’t understand “Ken is the exception be- cause he has been there for every practice faithfully,” said Bolton Although McDames sistence of his parents, he now keeps dancing for more per- sonal reasons. “It’s just a different thing to do and it’s fun,” said McDames. His mother, Hedy McDames, said she encourages all her children to get involved, “We want our kids to keep up with the tradition,’’ she said, “It has to be the parents who get their kids interested to Start with.” ® While they usually practice in regular clothing, said Bolton, he sces a marked dif- ference in the dancers when — wearing traditional clothing. “It’s a different feeling when you have your regalia on,’’ he said, ‘‘There’s a lot of respect when you have on the clothing of your family and ancestors rather than your street clothes,”’ The group’s next _ per- first Started dancing at the in-. KEEPING THE beat for the Kitselas Dancers is ¢ group direc- THE HONOUR OF performing the Ha/ay? or shaman dance for the culture or if they’re too tor Orlando “Bossy' Bolton. He started the native dance the Gitwinksihlw Four-Crest Dancers was given to 21-year-old ‘Mansell Griffin. He was chosen because he reflected the purity proud to be Indians.” and innocence that a medicine man must embody. However, there are a few young dancers including 16- formance is :at a four-day Tsimshian celebration in Met- lakatla September 7, group three years ago and it now Includes the voices of over 30 Tsimshian dancers from Kitselas. Lots of lots THERE COULD soon be a lot more. people living 1 in Thornhill. | The provincial government has a big piece of land near the community centre. It wants to build a subdivision there. One govemment official says — the subdivision could hold 200 lots. - . But first there will be public meetings. People who live in the area will have a say. | The governments says it wants all types of housing i in | the new subdivision. That includes low cost housing and perhaps apartments. a The first - 50 lots should ge on sao next year, bo 4 : caer New fire chief arrives TERRACE’S NEW fire chief has arrived. His name is Randy Smith. He’s been a firefighter for 15 years. Chief Smith’s last job was in Iqaluit @-KAL-O WEET). That’s a town way up north in the Northwest Territories. There, Chief Smith was the fire chief, was in charge of ambulances and looked after search and rescue. Chief Smith has also worked in Fort McMurray in northern Alberta and in Yellowknife i in the Northwest Territories. Chief Smith is looking forward to his new job. He’ also look after emergency services here. THE START IS FOR PEOPLE LEARNING TO READ | The Start ee