A performance aboard Deadhead by the Git Hayetsk Dancers at sundown July 17.
Performers: Mike Dangeli, Mique’l Dangeli, Nick Dangeli, Eddy Benson, Duane Stewart, Zachary Tait
photo credit: Maegan Hill-Carroll
photo credit: Maegan Hill-Carroll
photo credit: Maegan Hill-Carroll
photo credit: Barbara Cole
Led in partnership by Mike and Mique’l Dangeli, the Git Hayetsk are an internationally renowned West Coast First Nations mask-dancing group based in unceded Coast Salish Territory – known today as Vancouver, BC. Their name means “people of the copper shield” in Sm’algyax, the language spoken by the Nisga’a, Tsimshian, and Gitxsan Nations.
Their dancers are bonded by their common ancestry and family ties to the Sm’algyax speaking peoples with distinction in their connections to the Haida, Haisla, Tahltan, Tlingit, Lil’wat, Musqueam, and Anishinabe Nations.
The Git Hayetsk challenge themselves to practice the artistry of dance, composition, choreography, and regalia-making to the standards of wealth, power, and prestige embodied by the copper shield. With deep love and respect for their community, the Git Hayetsk draw together their strengths to give life to the songs of their ancestors as well as bring to life new dances to reflect the challenges and victories of their experiences as First Nations people today.
