Canada’s first-ever Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) cultural experience called ‘naaʔuu’ is making an impact on visitors and locals from all walks of life.
Erin Gionet from Calgary, Alberta caught the March 22 show at the Best Western Plus Tin Wis Resort conference centre on a whim during her Tofino vacation.
“I’ve been coming here for a long time with my kids. This experience gave me a more in-depth understanding of the TFN people. It was so intimate and welcoming; how generous of them to share,” she said.
Ucluelet resident and kayak guide Emma Van Tol was treated to the cultural experience by her employer, Hello Nature Adventure Tours.
“I like when the host opened up about sharing, that it’s not giving away, but more about creating a dialogue. We have a wonderful opportunity to create these strong relationships from a grounded place, and that’s inspiring,” said Van Tol.
TFN artist and event series co-producer Hjalmer Wenstob says the concept for naaʔuu draws inspiration from the Hawaiian Luau, which typically features lively cultural entertainment and traditional Hawaiian food.
Throughout TFN’s three-hour naaʔuu gathering, ticket-holders learnt about the Nation’s history through song, dance, and videos. The naaʔuu menu created by Heartwood Kitchen featured: delicious smoked salmon, steamed clams and mussels, venison stew, and bannock with wild cranberry preserve.
“We are looking to move forward by coming together,” said Wenstob during the March 22 show.
“Canadian history has only been here for 156 years. It took 156 years to get to this point in Canada, it will take 156 more to get back to balance again. It will take a lot of work from a lot of people, but I think we are all ready for that work. I really want to thank you all for listening and for understanding and for being so patient with us tonight and hearing our story and our truth,” he said.
As part of the experience, Wenstob’s younger brother Timothy Masso unveiled uniquely carved masks by performing dances to original songs.
“Naaʔuu is really about showcasing Tla-o-qui-aht culture. The point of naaʔuu is to really educate that our history is a lot longer than 156 years, it’s tens of thousands of years. The main thing is that Tla-o-qui-aht is still here,” said Masso.
Masso told the Westerly that TFN plans to create a permeant space, like a longhouse or culture centre, so they can host more naaʔuu event series.
“The goal is to have multiple crews set-up and that after March is over to run it again and cycle through with different crews. We are doing it at Tin Wis conference centre, so it’s definitely hard to book that and plan that when there is going to be so many weddings and things taking place here. Our hope is to create a space just for these events,” said Masso.
Wenstob and Masso hosted five naaʔuu evenings in March. Tribal Parks Guardian Terry Dorward and his team will take over the final dates, with the last two nights being March 30 and March 31. Tickets are $199 and can be purchased on eventbrite.com by searching ‘Tla-o-qui-aht’. Enter the promo guide ‘Welcome30’ at the time of ticket purchase to receive $30 off.
nora.omalley@westerlynews.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
RELATED: Tla-o-qui-aht Tribal Parks ʔiisaak Pledge; Paddling Together
READ MORE: Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations unveil totem pole on Canada Day