Museum festival hosts Nuu-chah-nulth youth

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More than 1,000 enthralled spectators jammed the main lobby of the Royal British Columbia Museum to watch Nuu-chah-nulth youth perform songs, dances and plays they've been learning at their schools.

The three-day Nuu-chah-nulth youth festival featured more than 250 students from four schools, and marked the first time many of these students have performed in a large, public setting.

Students from Wickaninnish, Hesquiaht, Maaqtusiis and Haahuupayuk performed in the museum's Clifford Carl Hall and in the HuupuKwanum - Tupaat Exhibit Hall, attending seminars on cedar-weaving and other topics between performances.

Huu-ay-aht's Robb Johnson led students through the Cedar Trails Program, where he recounted gathering cedar bark with his grandmother, and used stories as a springboard into a lesson on the importance of cedar, and how bark is used to make baskets, clothing, and many other items.

"The whole idea behind the youth festival is to get the kids involved in the exhibit," said organizer Bettina Thomas. "All the sharing, dialogue, and cross-cultural communication that happens is just great."

The youth festival is the last public program to be offered at the Out of the Mist - HuupuKwanum Tupaat Exhibit, which officially closes on May 28 before moving to the Denver Museum, where it will open in October.