The Kamloopa Powwow Society is apologizing for entry requirements that have been called outdated and discriminatory by hundreds of people online.
Rules for the event in the Kamloops, British Columbia area outline that competitors must have “at least one quarter Native blood”, appear in full regalia and “be of the correct gender for the category”. They also have requirements for dancers to be in full regalia to participate.
Outrage began after the organization posted schedule of events on his Facebook page.
Although the same rules have been in place for more than two decades, members of the public, and in particular members of the Two Spirit Indigenous community, have begun to point out how it limits participation in Western Canada’s largest powwow.
Kairyn Potts, a two-spirit advocate and TikToker with more than 230,000 followers, was one of the first to note the gender regulations as well as the background requirements known as blood amount.
“A group of people on the salary committee had to collectively decide to publicly announce that they do not want to create space or tolerate any individual who wants to dance a separate category from their correct gender,” he said in his Instagram post.
“This is deliberate and calculated discrimination against an already vulnerable group of people. Not to mention, it’s a huge step backwards for our communities,” Potts said.
He says he felt the need to comment because high mortality rates among native and queer youth and felt it was important that these spaces of cultural expression be safe for all people.
He said his posts were not intended to criticize the people behind the event, but rather to draw attention to the unfairness of the rules and provide an opportunity for change.
“Fired and discredited”
Additional concerns about the rules were echoed in dozens of comments and other posts online, with others adding to the discussion.
Kamloops Pride has released a post to ensure people in the queer and queer community feel supported.
“They feel like they’re rejected and discredited and not valid in their culture and communities,” said society president Ashton O’Brien.
They also urged Kamloopa organizers to review and change policies to be more inclusive.
Kamloopa Powwow Society president Delilah Daniels says values have changed and there is more openness to two-spirit people, along with a shift in who can be considered indigenous. (Image courtesy of YouTube)
Another area where people want change is the requirement for dancers to be in full regalia to take part in the grand entry and competition.
A published apology
Following online criticism of the rules, Kamloopa Powwow Society president Delyla Daniels posted an apologetic video.
“I don’t know how we’re going to recover from this. We’ve affected so many people,” she said.
In the apology, Daniels notes that today’s values have changed and there is more openness to Two-Spirit people, along with a shift in who can be considered indigenous.
She says the rules were added more than two decades ago to address concerns from elders and the community about who should be eligible to compete.
The event has an independent board separate from the Kamloops-area Tk’emlúps te Secwe̓pemc First Nation.
Daniels says society is reevaluating the rules.
“The KPS board was able to meet to discuss how we’re going to move forward and look at these rules and make our mistake, right.”
Opportunities for change
Potts is watching the apology online and says he’s grateful the public apologized.
“It’s a step in the direction of … something bigger than the organizers. It’s bigger than that.”
He suggests that an easy change would be to remove all race and gender requirements.
“Instead of having ‘women’s fancy scarf,’ just have a fancy scarf category and anyone who dances a fancy scarf, regardless of how they identify, will get in.”
Another advocate and grass dancer from Vancouver, Larissa Healy, suggests that Kamloopa could host a special two-spirit event at the upcoming event.
“You can always fix it… if they do a special event with two spirits, it will put them on a platform for reconciliation.”
Both Potts and Healy said they will be watching to see what the committee behind the Kamloopa Powwow Society does and are optimistic about potential changes.
Kamloopa is to be held from July 29th to July 31st.
Daybreak Kamloops 10:09 Kamloopa Powwow apologizes after online controversy
The Kamloopa Pow Wow has been called out on social media for its regulations, which are perceived as outdated and discriminatory.
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