The new moon signifies prosperity for West Coast

On Feb. 3 and 4, nearly 4,000 people came together in cultural pride and celebration to recognize the Nisga’a Nation’s New Year.

This year’s celebration was the largest to date, said organizers with the Nisga’a Ts’amiks Vancouver Society, the group that hosted the event. The society represents the 1,400 Nisga’a citizens who reside in the urban centers of greater Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.
Loosely translated, ‘Tsamiks’ is Nisga’a for ‘the twinkling lights off the water in the bay’ referring to Vancouver’s urban landscape.

‘Hobiyee’ means ‘New Year’ and is a celebration honoring the lunar New Year.

Nisga’a tradition states that First Nations people can predict the annual food harvest by how the moon is positioned on Hobiyee.

It is said that if the crescent of the moon is concave like a deep bowl or spoon, it means the harvest of oolichans, salmon and berries will be overflowing and the year will be a bountiful one for the Nisga’a.

If the crescent of the moon is closed, it means that it will be a difficult year for the Nisga’a for harvesting food for the winter.

“From my understanding it won’t be as plentiful, but it will still be pretty good,” said Emily Tait (Sayt Huuhl Gaak), a member of the Vancouver Nisga’a dance group.
Her family members shared with her their Hobiyee predictions for 2012.

But Brenda Wesley, a Gitxsan matriarch disagreed. The Elder said she too saw the moon and claims it determined a positive outlook for the year.

“I’ve seen the new moon and the tips are up, she said. “That indicates that it’s going to be a prosperous year for West Coast Aboriginal people,” she claimed.

In the past, the Hobiyee event had been held annually at the Native Friendship Centre in East Vancouver. Last year the celebration relocated to the larger Joe Mathias Centre in North Vancouver, where organizers say they were filled to capacity.

This year, organizers decided to hold the celebration at the PNE Agrodome.

“Everything ran smoothly,” said Sheldon Robinson, programs and services coordinator for the society. “It was just as though we’d done it at home.”

Robinson is originally from the Nisga’a community of Greenville [Laxgalts’ap] in the Nass Valley. He said the two-day celebration boasted 600 performers from 11 different traditional dance groups throughout the province and beyond.

He said First Nations weren’t the only ones to join in the celebration.

“We had the [Vancouver] Chinese community come and perform their dragon dance,” Robinson explained. “It was just a given,” that the Chinese community would be invited to the event. There is a long history and commonalties between the cultures, including sharing the lunar New Year.

“I think it’s fantastic to have other First Nations come out to celebrate. It shows diversity and yet it shows our linkage as well,” said Tait.

At the grand finale of the event, hundreds of First Nations gathered on the Agrodome centre stage to officially welcome the Nisga’a New Year.

Repeated chants of “Hobiyee” filled the enormous coliseum as First Nations came together in power, strength and cultural reverence under the Nisga’a moon.
“It has been a real honour to be a part of the Nisga’a Ts’amiks community,” said Sherry Small, chairperson of the Nisga’a Ts’amiks Vancouver Society Board of Directors, during the closing ceremony.

“I am so proud of the Nisga’a Ts’amiks people. They have taken their ancestors’ spirit of respect, love and compassion and they have taken that to walk with them for the rest of their lives,” she said.

“This [Hobiyee] is part of that journey,” she continued. “It’s the start of singing the songs and dancing the songs of our ancestors,” she explained.

“Because we’re living in the ‘concrete jungle’ it is very difficult for a lot of First Nations people to have access to such [cultural] events,” said Robinson. “And with the Nisga’a people being so strong we thought it was important to share our culture with everyone in Vancouver,” he said of the celebration.

The biggest reason to host Hobiyee in the city is to make the Nisga’a presence known, said organizers.

“It’s to show that we as First Nations people are still here and we are still strong,” Robinson explained.

“It’s to show our power [as First Nations people],” agreed Wesley. “The Nisga’a are our neighbours and our people celebrate Hobiyee as well,” she said. “This Hobiyee is what Christmas is to Christians,” she continued. “It’s where we show our strength. Where we show it, not get it from.”

“It’s slightly different than what we have in the villages,” said Diana Smith [Aliskgum Xsaak] from Terrace, B.C.
“It’s urban and it’s outside of the Nass Valley but it’s very spiritual still,” the Elder said.

But whether the year is good or average for harvest and prosperity, participants agreed that Vancouver’s Hobiyee celebration was a breathtaking display of West Coast culture.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s so good to see,” exclaimed Rose Point, Musqueam First Nation Elder and first time Hobiyee spectator.

“I’ve never seen so many babies in one place so sound asleep with so much noise,” she said. “And I’ve never seen so many tribal groups. It made me feel so happy that I did come.”

“It’s overwhelming to see such cultural display, and the way the Nisga’a people do it there is such a warm embrace,” agreed Al Houston, Hobiyee event volunteer.
Houston, who is Ojibwa but lives in Vancouver, said the drumming and singing was emotionally moving.

“When I was watching the dancers and how they would feel the music to the drum, I was in awe,” he explained. “I was just stunne.”

The event cost the Nisga’a Tsamiks Vancouver Society over $40,000 to host. Expenses included the coliseum rental and security, as well as food for participants.

Photo captions: Hobiyee (the Nisga’a Nation’s New Year ) participants, Peter Nelson and Jackie Temple share a laugh during the festivities.

The Nisga’a Ts’amiks Vancouver Society hosted the Hobiyee event in Vancouver on Feb. 3 and 4 - drawing about 4000 people.

Musqueam Nation Elder, Rose Point, enjoyed her first Hobiyee celebration.

Sherry Small, Chairperson of the Nisga’a Ts’amiks Vancouver Society Board of Directors, greets participants.

Photos: Shauna Lewis