A contemporary potlatch ceremony as told by Gana, a 12-year-old, Kwakwaka’wakw girl
Welcome Family and Friends to Our Bighouse, written by Nella Cook Nelson and illustrated by Karin Clark, is a contemporary story told through the voice of a 12-year-old Kwakwaka’wakw girl named Gana who lives in ‘Yalis (Alert Bay) on Cormorant Island. In this Indigenous children’s book we learn that from the time she is little, Gana attends potlatches and ceremonies in the gukwdzi (Bighouse).
The regalia Gana wears—a button blanket, dancing apron and masks—were designed and made for her based on her family origins or clans. Her grandparents and other relatives teach Gana how and where her family and community came to live in this world. She learns dances and songs that belong to her family and ancestors. Relatives also teach her cultural protocol and expectations while she attends potlatch ceremonies and other ceremonies, like mourning, marriage, naming, and peace ceremonies and dances. The ancient cultural teachings she learns in the Bighouse are useful to Gana in her everyday life and continue to have value in the 21st century.
Written by Nella Nelson, and illustrated by Karin Clark.
A contemporary potlatch ceremony as told by Gana, a 12-year-old, Kwakwaka’wakw girl
Welcome Family and Friends to Our Bighouse, written by Nella Cook Nelson and illustrated by Karin Clark, is a contemporary story told through the voice of a 12-year-old Kwakwaka’wakw girl named Gana who lives in ‘Yalis (Alert Bay) on Cormorant Island. In this Indigenous children’s book we learn that from the time she is little, Gana attends potlatches and ceremonies in the gukwdzi (Bighouse).
The regalia Gana wears—a button blanket, dancing apron and masks—were designed and made for her based on her family origins or clans. Her grandparents and other relatives teach Gana how and where her family and community came to live in this world. She learns dances and songs that belong to her family and ancestors. Relatives also teach her cultural protocol and expectations while she attends potlatch ceremonies and other ceremonies, like mourning, marriage, naming, and peace ceremonies and dances. The ancient cultural teachings she learns in the Bighouse are useful to Gana in her everyday life and continue to have value in the 21st century.
Written by Nella Nelson, and illustrated by Karin Clark.
