Michael Potestio, Kamloops This Week -
KAMLOOPS — Kamloopa Powwow organizers have issued an apology and made changes, following public backlash to event rules said to discriminate against two-spirit people, young mothers and those of partial Indigenous ancestry.
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Kamloopa Powwow organizers have issued an apology and made changes, following public backlash to event rules said to discriminate against those who are of partial indigenous ancestry, two-spirit and young mothers. Kamloops This Week.
On July 12, the Kamloopa Powwow Society posted its dance rules online for those participating in the 41st annual competition. The powwow is set to return from July 29 to July 31 after two years of cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The document stated participants must be at least one-quarter native blood. Other rules stated: Each contestant must dress in full regalia and be of the “correct gender” for that category. Those participating in the princess pageant were required to be single, have no children or spouse and be a female enrolled in high school.
The rules came under fire across several social media channels, with outrage and disappointment expressed. Comments were posted to the society’s Facebook page, including accusations of the rules being transphobic, colonial and discriminatory. Others called for rule changes and a boycott of the powwow.
Garry Gottfriedson, a Secwépemc cultural adviser at Thompson Rivers University, told Kamloops This Weel he was angered and saddened when he saw the rules. He said Indigenous culture is complicated and rules around blood are colonial constructs that dictated who could be defined as Indian.
“Our societies never operated that way,” Gottfriedson said. “If you were willing to live in our community and you were willing to accept our culture — no matter how much Indian blood you have in you — then you were accepted as a member of our tribe.”
Kamloops Pride president Ashton O’Brien said she heard from two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals who did not feel welcomed by the event rules and thought they were now being excluded from a cultural celebration, due to the gender requirements.
“For a lot of people, that didn’t make sense,” she said. “Like, what is the correct gender and, if that meant aligning with whatever gender the category was, it felt exclusive.”
On July 13, the Kamloopa Powwow Society posted an apology online and said wording of the rules did not reflect how the event was run in the past. It said the organization would update its dance rules to “reflect equality.” Over the weekend, the society posted rule revisions.
The society stated it had removed outdated and discriminatory language regarding gender and updated rules to welcome all self-identified Indigenous people.
In the updated rules, the one-quarter blood requirement has been changed to “dancers must self-identify as Indigenous” and language in the document now includes both sexes.
As for the princess pageant, the only remaining stipulation is contestants must be between the ages of 13 and 17.
The society said beginning this year it is also adding an annual switch dance special and two-spirit round dance to the powwow. It also plans to appoint youth and a two-spirit member to its committee.
“We are inclusive in honouring our 2SLGBTQIA+ and will continue to recognize our relatives,” the online apology read.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir said in a statement that the band is happy the society is taking corrective steps.
“Those rules do not reflect (Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc) values,” Casimir said. Our “chief and council endorses the implementation of a National Action Plan that addresses violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and 2SLGBTQQIA++. They are our people and are our k’wséltkten, our family and we all hold them dear.”
Kamloopa Powwow Society president Delyla Daniels indicated the powwow’s tabulators and others have dropped out of this year’s powwow.
“I do not know how we are going to recover from this,” Daniels said. “We’ve impacted so many people who were set to have specials and celebration of their family and loved one that are no longer having specials.”
C&T Tabulating, a business that does powwow tabulations, posted online last week that it had withdrawn from the powwow, due to the viral social media outrage. It is not clear if the company now intends to rejoin the powwow, given the updated rules.
On July 12, the Kamloopa Powwow Society posted its dance rules online for those participating in the 41st annual competition. The powwow is set to return from July 29 to July 31 after two years of cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The document stated participants must be at least one-quarter native blood. Other rules stated: Each contestant must dress in full regalia and be of the “correct gender” for that category. Those participating in the princess pageant were required to be single, have no children or spouse and be a female enrolled in high school.
The rules came under fire across several social media channels, with outrage and disappointment expressed. Comments were posted to the society’s Facebook page, including accusations of the rules being transphobic, colonial and discriminatory. Others called for rule changes and a boycott of the powwow.
Garry Gottfriedson, a Secwépemc cultural adviser at Thompson Rivers University, told Kamloops This Weel he was angered and saddened when he saw the rules. He said Indigenous culture is complicated and rules around blood are colonial constructs that dictated who could be defined as Indian.
“Our societies never operated that way,” Gottfriedson said. “If you were willing to live in our community and you were willing to accept our culture — no matter how much Indian blood you have in you — then you were accepted as a member of our tribe.”
Kamloops Pride president Ashton O’Brien said she heard from two-spirit and gender-diverse individuals who did not feel welcomed by the event rules and thought they were now being excluded from a cultural celebration, due to the gender requirements.
“For a lot of people, that didn’t make sense,” she said. “Like, what is the correct gender and, if that meant aligning with whatever gender the category was, it felt exclusive.”
On July 13, the Kamloopa Powwow Society posted an apology online and said wording of the rules did not reflect how the event was run in the past. It said the organization would update its dance rules to “reflect equality.” Over the weekend, the society posted rule revisions.
The society stated it had removed outdated and discriminatory language regarding gender and updated rules to welcome all self-identified Indigenous people.
In the updated rules, the one-quarter blood requirement has been changed to “dancers must self-identify as Indigenous” and language in the document now includes both sexes.
As for the princess pageant, the only remaining stipulation is contestants must be between the ages of 13 and 17.
The society said beginning this year it is also adding an annual switch dance special and two-spirit round dance to the powwow. It also plans to appoint youth and a two-spirit member to its committee.
“We are inclusive in honouring our 2SLGBTQIA+ and will continue to recognize our relatives,” the online apology read.
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir said in a statement that the band is happy the society is taking corrective steps.
“Those rules do not reflect (Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc) values,” Casimir said. Our “chief and council endorses the implementation of a National Action Plan that addresses violence against Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and 2SLGBTQQIA++. They are our people and are our k’wséltkten, our family and we all hold them dear.”
Kamloopa Powwow Society president Delyla Daniels indicated the powwow’s tabulators and others have dropped out of this year’s powwow.
“I do not know how we are going to recover from this,” Daniels said. “We’ve impacted so many people who were set to have specials and celebration of their family and loved one that are no longer having specials.”
C&T Tabulating, a business that does powwow tabulations, posted online last week that it had withdrawn from the powwow, due to the viral social media outrage. It is not clear if the company now intends to rejoin the powwow, given the updated rules.
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