Jam-packed festival will celebrate Indigenous creativity and brilliance - Windspeaker.com

Jam-packed festival will celebrate Indigenous creativity and brilliance Share Facebook Twitter Pinterest Share Monday, September 14th, 2026 4:49pm Image Image Caption Musician Francis Baptiste (left) will perform at the əʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl – Come Toward the Fire fesitval in Musqueam (Vancouver). Pictured at right: festival head curator Jarrett Martineau. By Crystal St.Pierre Local Journalism Initiative Reporter Windspeaker.com This year marks the fifth annual award-winning Indigenous Arts Festival ʔəm̓i ce:p xʷiwəl – Come Toward the Fire, scheduled for Sept. 18 to Sept. 20 in Musqueam (Vancouver). It’s “the biggest program that we've ever programmed,” said festival head curator Jarrett Martineau. “We have more than two dozen artists from across the continent participating and performing, and we've expanded the festival to three days.” The festival’s name was given by Musqueam Elder and language keeper Larry Grant. The event was created to amplify Indigenous voices while creating a space to celebrate Indigenous creativity, brilliance and culture. The festival will be held at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and other locations at the University of British Columbia (UBC) with a day of free events slated for Friday Sept. 18. This free day is a dedicated Day of Knowledge Sharing, adding to the already packed weekend schedule. Friday will be “an opportunity to learn more about Indigenous cultures, languages, art practices and histories, including Musqueam, on whose unceded territory UBC is located,” said Martineau. Friday’s schedule will run from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. starting with an opening welcome from Musqueam First Nation. Special performances by Coastal Wolf Pack and Cree/Métis folk trio Burnstick will be followed by workshops, cultural tours, film screenings, video art, an Indigenous artisan market, artist roundtables and learning discussions at venues across the UBC campus, including the Chan Centre, Museum of Anthropology, Belkin Gallery, UBC First Nations House of Learning, and the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.  Included in the long list of events is the Vancouver debuts of rising Indigenous performers LOV, Siibii, and Kalyn Fay, alongside a headline concert hosted by acclaimed actor, comedian, and activist Dallas Goldtooth, star of the hit series Reservation Dogs. The event received financial support from the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund and will also include a screening of Gord Downie’s The…