The Yellowknives Dene First Nation is celebrating Xat’o, or fall, with handgames, drum dances and traditional food among other activities.
Starting on Friday and continuing through the weekend, the Xat’o gathering is set to take place at the Wıìlıìdeh Site near the Yellowknife River.
It aims to share and celebrate Yellowknives Dene culture and history with people of all ages and walks of life.
Planned events include a $150,000 men’s handgames tournament, a cribbage tournament, talent show, bingo, storytelling, sewing, a language scavenger hunt, Dene games and a bouncy castle.
Yellowknives Dene First Nation Ndılǫ councillor Jeff Rosnawski, coordinator of the gathering, spoke to Cabin Radio host Sarah Erasmus about the event on Thursday afternoon.
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He said the gathering was developed through community input.
“Over the past little while I’ve been a councillor, a lot of membership have approached me with the urgency to host the gathering where we invite people from outside Yellowknife to our traditional territory,” he said, adding he has been a councillor for two years.
Rosnawski said the Yellowknives Dene would traditionally gather at the Wıìlıìdeh Site during the fall to prepare for the winter.
“They would celebrate and eat, talk to each other and celebrate amongst each other,” he said.
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Fall can be a difficult time for Elders, he added, as that was when they were taken away to residential school as youth.
“Sometimes it’s triggering for our beloved Elders, for sure. We figured we might as well try to make it a joyous event and something for them to look forward to and kind-of move forward in a positive manner.”
Rosnawski said the First Nation is expecting “a strong turnout” of Dene from across the NWT as well as northern Alberta and British Columbia. He said some people will be camping in the area.
The gathering is open to anyone who wishes to attend.
“I’m hoping everybody comes out and gets a little bit of exposure to our culture,” Rosnawski said.
“There is a lot of history in the area that we’d like to share with everyone.”
Alcohol and drugs are prohibited at the gathering.
