Adka Cultural Festival: Call it a 'tent revival'

One of my favourite questions to ask at the Adka Cultural Festivalis "where did you learn how to do this?"

In broad terms there are two stories.

Some people start very young. They grow up in a community with strong cultural ties.

Consider Destiny Clennett, a VuntutGwitchin"jigging" dancer travelling from Old Crow,Yukon. She's wearing a beaded baby belt as a sash. This one was made by her grandmother.

"The story about it," she informs mematteroffactly, "is thatevery year our relatives and ancestors got together at a dance and they would always bring thisbecause most of the women carried their babies in them. So when thegirls get oldertheywould wear the baby blanket," she says.

The girl knows her heritage.

For other people Adkarepresents a re-discovery: Adults reclaiming a culture that was denied them growing up.

That's the case with Mark Rutledge who performs Anishinaabedance.

"I was part of the '60s scoop, I lost a lot of that tradition and culture because I was put into a non-aboriginal family. My first pow-wow was when I was 21 so pretty late for most people I guess. But know what I always say it's never too late to start dancing."

Throughout the week, it's a story I hear often.

Many of these artists were adopted in raised in non-aboriginal families.

That's what happened to Dean Heron originally from the Teslin Tlingit First Nation.

"I started doing artwork in the mid 90s as a way to discover where I was from. I was adopted as a child so I didn't grow up in my community. I started working on my own, going to galleries on my own in Victoria and galleries in Vancouver," he says.

Heron eventuallyhe quit job a good one to study carving in Terrace, B.C..

"I was an IT specialist with the department of health," he remembers with a broad smile.

'Reclamation of our culture.'

The word 'revival' is used often this week.

Blake Lepine is a young member of the Carcross-Tagish First Nation, one of many people who tries to maintain a continuity of tradition in his work.

"It's really nice to be among other carvers and other artists that are doing what I am doing, this reclamation of our culture. Rediscovering I guess a lot of old skills and a lot of these old trades. A lot of these other artists are veterans in regard to theart form. They've been doing it for 30 plus years. It's nice to see a lot of people here, happy, sharing their stories, sharing their experiences so we can all grow together."

At the carving table, all are watching the expert hands of Dempsey Bob. (You might have seen his work already.Amid alifetime's worth of achievements which include the Order of Canada,he helped createthe installationThe Story of Fog Woman and Ravenat the Vancouver Airport.)

During the week many people seek Bob's appraisal of their work which he's happy to provide.

The carvers' tent is busy during the week with nearly 24-hour sunlight by the Yukon River.

"It's really good to share because I've spent my whole life carving. If we don't pass it on it could be gone in a generation. It's good to pass on what we know. It took a lot of struggle, a lot of learning, to get to this level. When I started there were very few carvers. Now there's more and more," he says.

Call it a revival under the big canvastent.