NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 20, 2023
Da Kų Nän Ts’étthèt Dance Festival 2023
Dakwäkäda (Haines Junction, Yukon) – On June 23, 2023 Da Kų Nän Ts’étthèt “Our House is Waking Up the Land” Dance Festival will once again open to the public. A special 30th Anniversary Exhibit for the Dakwäkäda Dancers will also be opening at this time. Champagne and Aishihik First Nations (CAFN) is happy to invite everyone to come together again and celebrate each other.
“2023 is a big year for CAFN. Not only is it the 30th Anniversary of signing our land claim agreements, but also the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Dakwäkäda Dancers, and our fifth Dance Festival,” said Dän Nätthe Äda K’úkhįá (Chief Barb Joe). “And we are overjoyed to be able to celebrate each of these milestones as fully as we would pre-pandemic, and to do so with friends and family from all over the north. The importance of these cultural milestones cannot be understated, Dákų̀ Nän Tsʼèddhyèt is not just a festival. It is putting our values into practice, strengthening traditions and showing off our culture, singing the songs and telling the stories that come from this land. We show our guests who we are, we show our guests dan k’e (our way).”
The festival showcase dancers, singers and drummers from across the north as well as workshops, feasting and an artisan market. In addition, a canoe ceremony will take place, where CAFN’s new healing canoe will receive its name, be introduced to the water and the woodchips will be burnt.
CAFN is asking that all guests practice good hygiene and to stay home if they are feeling unwell. PPE and Covid/Influenza tests will be available for those who want them. Noting that the forecast for the weekend calls for warmer temperatures, there will be ample shade and water stations available on festival grounds.
For more information about DKNT2023, please visit: Da Kų Nän Ts’étthèt Dance Festival on Facebook.
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For more information:
CAFN.ca
Paige Hopkins
Communications Officer
(867) 456-6888 ext 337
[email protected]