Coastal Renewal Pow Wow

My first Coastal Pow Wow in the USA.

I’ve been to quite a few pow wows at this point, but only across BC and Alberta. I was fortunate enough to travel to Washington state in the USA.

Different communities, different weekends, different spaces but somehow, the feeling is always familiar.

Very… grounding.

This past weekend at a coastal pow wow was no different.

I noticed a lot of similar faces

The first time I attended a pow wow, everything felt big from the drums, the regalia, the movement, it all hit me at once when I was younger.

But I kept coming back. I started noticing the smaller things.

The way dancers prepare before entering the circle.
The quick smiles between songs.
The quiet conversations happening just outside the main space.

People noticed this and started opening up to me no matter where I sat down. I would be given entire life stories or current things going on in their lives.

These are some of my favorite memories throughout the entire pow wow, solely because I always felt distanced because of my paler complexion.

Growing up I thought I would be outcasted because my skin wasn’t as dark as full Indigenous people, yet just being there and showing up consistently, everyone made me feel like I belonged.

Every pow wow carries its own energy, but there’s always a sense of continuity.

You see familiar faces.
You recognize rhythms.
You start to understand how everything connects.

It’s not something that starts when you arrive and ends when you leave, it’s ongoing.

And being there, even just for a weekend, means stepping into something that’s already in motion, that already has its own system, that changes and adapts over time.

Last summer's Mission Pow wow, I was focused on capturing everything.

This time around I was covering a personal documentary series with a couple friends and their personal journey.

However, I couldn’t help but see some new regalia that was either very beautiful or so powerful that I had to snap a few pictures.

A dancer adjusting their regalia.
Someone taking a breath before stepping in.
The intensity of the faces focusing on the beat of the drum.

Those moments don’t demand attention, but they hold weight.

And they’re the ones that stayed with me.

There was also a proposal that happened in the middle! It was so adorable, I was the only photographer in the space so I was able to capture this cute moment and make sure they had some high resolution photos.

That moment will also stay with me and reminds me that this space is build for the community.

Everyone cares, is connected and everyone is a part of pow wow.

I took a lot of photos over the weekend, some you might have seen, some you probably didn’t.

If you were there, I’ve made them available for free.

Not as a portfolio. Not as a highlight reel.

Just as a way for people to have a piece of the weekend they were part of.

You can download them here:
https://ckhogan.pixieset.com/renewalcoastaljam/

Every pow wow is different.

But the reason for showing up stays the same.

To listen.
To learn.
To be present.

And to understand, even just a little more each time, what’s really being shared in those spaces.

Because after a while, you realize…

You’re not just attending anymore.

You’re returning.