The third annual stɑl'əw̓ Pow Wow will feature special events such as an Orange Shirt dance, and Red Dress dance during its three-day run at the Langley Events Centre. The pow wow welcomes everyone and is one of the largest events of its kind in Metro Vancouver. “Since inception, the stɑl'əw̓ Pow Wow was intended to bring people together in a good way, with open hearts and minds,” said q̓wɑt̓ic̓ɑ Phyllis Atkins, stɑl'əw̓ Arts & Cultural Society manager.
“We wanted this to be a safe and inclusive event for everyone to gather and be able to witness the beauty and strength of our Indigenous culture through drumming, singing, dancing and art.” The event celebrates the First Nation communities of qʼwa:n̓ƛʼən̓, q̓ic̓əy̓, Máthxwi, and Se’mya’me’ which have shared and co-stewarded the lands known today as Langley. The pow wow runs Friday, Sept.
13 to Sunday, Sept. 15. For the special dances (orange shirt and red dress) will be on Saturday, Sept.
14. Drum groups and dancers will perform, sharing their healing medicine to honour and support those harmed by residential schools, and missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit peoples (MMIWG2S) and their families. Indigenous visual arts will also be celebrated through the reveal of a new MMIWG2S flag design that will be used at all future stɑl'əw̓ Pow Wows.
The stɑl'əw̓ Pow Wow is organized by stɑl'əw̓ Arts & Cultural Society in partnership with the Township of Langley. The.