Ts’íthomé (Thank You) and See You Again Next Year!

Festival History

Seabird Festival Records go back to 1971. The history of First Nations festivals dates to before colonization. First Nation tribes would travel up and down the river by canoe to other tribes to compete in sports and games, to trade, to look for a spouse, to reconnect with family from other tribes, all while sharing stories and music. Today’s festival circuit is much the same. Most do not travel by river to get to the festivals anymore, but we still bring the canoes and use them to compete.

Written by Sandra Bobb
Sq’éwqel Communications

General Inquiries

2895 Chowat Road

Agassiz, BC, Canada

V0M 1A0

Events Coordinator: Charlene Point

Ph: 1-604-796-2177

E: events@seabirdisland.ca

Celebrating Indigenous Sports and Culture: The Rich History of First Nations Festivals

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have played their own sports to teach survival and other life skills, for fun, and for competition. The First Nations’ contributions to Canadian sports are visible today in sports such as kayaking, canoeing, snowshoeing, swimming, wrestling, and lacrosse, a sport which was originally played by First Nations people on the east coast.

Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and one of the oldest sports known, beginning over 2000 years ago in China. Cuju involved kicking a ball into a small hole. A similar sport was recorded in Mexico & Central America in 1600 A.D. Records show the use of balls stuffed with grass, caribou hair, and moss in Alaska and Canada. In 1620, the natives in the Jamestown settlement (Virginia, USA) played a game called pasuckaukohowog (they gather to play ball with the foot). The rough game was played on the beach, half a mile wide, with the goals a mile apart and as many as 1000 players.

We hope everybody continues to join us and share in the rich history and culture shared at the Seabird Island First Nation Festival for years to come, and we look forward to seeing you all at other events on the circuit this year.

 

Written by Sandra Bobb
Sq’éwqel Communications

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