(WEST KELOWNA) - A slow smile turns upwards on Sharon Bond-Hogg’s face.

Of course, she’s politely going to refuse to share her recipe for bannock.

“Everyone asks for it,” she says with a laugh. “But it’s a secret. It’s not exactly my mom’s recipe. It’s an evolution. But I guess I can tell you I use flour in it instead of the ground up roots or pemmican (a mix of dried meats and berries) that Aboriginals traditionally might have used.”

Bond-Hogg is the owner of First Nation-themed Kekuli Cafe in West Kelowna and bannock is the Aboriginal bread that Bond-Hogg has built the business around.

“Our motto is ‘Don’t panic…we have bannock’ and it has become so popular and powerful that we’ve registered and trademarked it,” she said.

Since it opened four years ago Kekuli –  the Aboriginal word for the underground lodge used for dialogue and eating – has been on a tear.

It most recently won the Aboriginal Food & Beverage Award from the B.C. Aboriginal Tourism Association and over the past couple of years has snagged accolades such as B.C. Aboriginal Business of the Year, Aboriginal Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and Westbank Aboriginal Business of the Year.

It even attracted the Toronto-based Food Network TV show You Gotta Eat Here with cameras rolling for laughs and demonstrations in the kitchen.

Host John Catucci’s highlight was naturally the Indian taco.

“Bannock tastes so good and is so versatile,” said Bond-Hogg, who lives in West Kelowna and is a member of the Nooaitch First Nation in Merritt.

“We use it as the bun for our buffalo burgers, as the bread for the wild smoked salmon sandwich, like a donut, like a scone and as the base of the Indian taco and the Indian breakfast tacos.”

The Indian taco is the restaurant’s signature dish and a cross-cultural play on words and tastes from both the Aboriginal for the bannock and the Mexican for the tacos.

A split piece of bannock is loaded with chili, salsa, sour cream, grated cheese and lettuce for a messy and delicious meal.

Another cross-cultural creation is bread pudding that uses bannock as the base of an English-inspired dessert that also includes the Aboriginal favourite Saskatoon berry.

“Oooh, we always get the bannock bread pudding with three spoons,” said customer Kathleen Reykdal, who comes to the cafe often with her husband Walter and their friend Lee Dworschak for dessert sharing and coffee.

“I never imagined there was anything like an Aboriginal restaurant and if there was I never thought I’d particularly find myself going there. But we’re regulars.”

Originally from up north in Peace River, Walter said his mom tried making bannock.

“I don’t think white people can make good bannock,” he said with a laugh.

“Ours was flat and tasteless. Sharon’s is fluffy and delicious.”

When not sharing bannock bread pudding the trio may opt for a cheese, tomato and onion bannoccia (a tasty bannock-focaccia bread hybrid) or a Saskatoon berry bannock scone.

Saskatoon berries are the marquee ingredient in the cafe’s famous blue smoothie that’s yummy as well and an incredible antioxidant.

All this success is not bad for a woman who started making bannock to serve at parent-student-teacher meetings when she worked as an Aboriginal advocate in local schools.

One year she decided to sell bannock from a booth at local festival Westside Daze and it was a huge hit. That led to a concession at a car wash for a couple of years and finally the cafe.

Bond-Hogg’s business plan for Kekuli and Aboriginal Business Canada has always had an expansion and franchising component.

The cafe has already opened a satellite in Osoyoos and is looking at another location in Enderby.

“When it comes to franchising, this concept would totally work in downtown Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton,” she said. “Our food and atmosphere appeals to both Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. It’s not about being political it’s about serving good food and making customers happy.”

Bannock can also be a dessert when sweetened up with chocolate and walnuts.

Kekuli Cafe is located in the Governors Landing strip mall just off Highway 97 on Louie Drive. It’s open seven days a week for breakfast, coffee, snacks, lunch and dinner.

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“You have to try the Indian tacos,” says Jacobs, coordinator for the Tk’emlups Indian band’s Kamloopa pow wow. “They’re insanely good.”

The Kamloops pow wow is one of the largest in Western Canada and celebrates its 34^th year in August. About 20,000 people, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, are expected to attend over the three-day event, which boasts a substantial $77,000 total competition purse.

Pow wows are a lot like a rodeo. At the edge of the arena families are helping competitors set up for the next round of dances. It’s dusty, there’s a running commentary over loud speakers by an increasingly hoarse announcer, food and craft kiosks compete for customers, young folk flirt and kids get yelled at.

But it’s all set against the brilliant flash of dancers’ colourful regalia, the hum of powerful First Nations traditions and spectacular scenery.

Banned for decades by governments intent on forcing First Nations to assimilate, pow wows survived and continue to be an integral part of Aboriginal culture. Every summer dozens of small and large pow wows happen across B.C., from Moberly Lake in the northeast corner of the province to West Saanich on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, attracting competitors of all ages and visitors of all nationalities.

They come to watch the male dancers with starkly painted faces strutting their feathered and intricately beaded selves, female dancers swirling fringes and tin horns flaring out gracefully, and hear the backbeat of throbbing drums and wailing singers.

“Make sure you see the Grand Entry,” says Jacobs, a member of the Carrier First Nation of northwestern B.C. “It’s a marathon; you see all the dancers and all the regalia.

“The daily ceremony starts with flag bearers, often veterans of the armed forces, entering the arena, followed by dignitaries and then the dancers – all of them, all to the thunderous beat of 15 to 20 drum bands, in the Kamloopa case.

Tips for Pow Wow first-timers

1. Regalia versus costume - Pow Wow dancers are serious competitors who have spent long, hard hours in training and making their regalia. Yes, regalia, not – really not – costumes. Do ask about the regalia – dancers often love to talk about their outfit.
2. Speaking of photographs – Ask before photographing people outside of the pow wow area; it’s common courtesy. During competitions the announcer will let you know when taking photos is forbidden, such as during a prayer or a special dance.
3. Pow wow ceremonies – These reflect the organic nature of First Nations culture. In other words, they’re seemingly without order and held with kids running all over the place. The power and context of each ceremony is important, just not laced up, so stand up during the Grand Entry and follow the crowd’s lead on wearing or doffing hats.
4. Inter-tribals - The inter tribal is where the public is invited to dance in the pow wow circle. Yes, even you, white boy. Follow the beat of the drums, the direction of the other dancers and try to follow their steps. Quick dance primer: Taking a step and with flexed knees to bounce, land first on the ball of your foot (one beat) then bring your heel down (the next beat). Repeat with the other foot. There, you’re a champ in the making.
5. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate – Pow wows in British Columbia usually happen during the height of summer, with heat exhaustion being the number one emergency first aiders attend to.

Now, back to those bannock tacos…

Kamloopa Pow Wow

• When: August 2-4, 2013
• Where: Secwepemc Pow Wow Grounds, just outside Kamploops, crossing the Yellowhead Bridge.
• What: Grand Entry: Friday 7 p.m, Saturday noon & 7pm, Sunday noon. Traditional, Chicken, Jingle, Grass, Fancy Feather & Fancy Shawl for Adult, Golden Age, Teen & Junior dance categories. Drum competition.
• Admission: $10 per day; $20 weekend pass

20th Annual Yellow Wolf Inter-tribal Pow Wow

• When: August 2-4, 2013
• Where: Tsartlip Park, 800 Stelly’s Cross Rd., West Saanich
• Admission: Free
• More info: Tel: 250-652-4635

7^th Annual In-Shuck-ch Days  

• When: August 17-18, 2013
• Where: Deroche, BC
• What: Free festival featuring traditional arts and crafts, ceremonies, workshops, games and entertainment.
• More info: http://www.inshuckch.com/inshuckchDays.html

Halfway River Rodeo

• When:August 18-19, 2013
• Where: Halfway River Reserve 75 km northwest of Fort St. John
• Admission: Free
• More info: Tel: 250 772 5058

Carving on the Edge Festival

• When: August 30 -September 22, 2013
• Where: Tofino
• What: Free festival celebrating wood carving artists, from masks to canoes, workshops and storytelling included.
• More info: http://www.carvingedgefestival.ca

Spirit Within Festival

• When: Sept. 27-29, 2013
• Where: Whistler, B.C.
• What: With general admission ticket ($8 to $18, family pass $49) First Nations artist demonstrations, traditional dancers and children’s activities, plus contemporary arts with an Aboriginal twist.
• More info: http://www.slcc.ca/

Fraser Valley Bald Eagle Festival 

• When: Nov. 16 – 17
• Where: Harrison Mills
• What: Sts’ailes Band in the Sto:lo Nation celebrates North America’s largest gathering of bald eagles with Aboriginal artisan market, craft activities, eagle walking tour, dance and theatre
• More info: http://fraservalleybaldeaglefestival.ca/

West Mo Days

• When: July 26-28
• Where: Moberly Lake, Peace River Country
• What: West Moberly Lake Nations Treaty Day celebrations, a weekend of fun, games, activities competitive events and prizes for the whole family
• More info: http://wmfn.org/event/2013-west-mo-days-july-26-28

Metis Jamboree

• When: Aug. 9-11, 2013
• Where: Williams Lake, Cariboo Chilcotin Metis Association of Williams Lake
• Macleese Lake Recreation Hall, 30 miles north of Williams Lake
• More info: http://mnbc.ca/news-events/community-events

Click here for more information on how to add an Aboriginal experience to your next visit to British Columbia. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more experiences.

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After the live music presentation, we settle into a small theatre. We’re treated to a bird’s-eye view of B.C.’s magnificent scenery as the camera pans snow-capped peaks, while Chiefs of the Squamish and Lil’Wat groups talk about the tribes’ shared history and continued alliance.

Emerging from the darkness, we head back to the Great Hall, where a long Salish hunting canoe hangs overhead. The canoe is named Nexws Chachu7 and was carved by a master carver who spent years researching the dying art of Squamish carving.

“This canoe was carved from a single cedar tree,” our guide says, drawing questions from curious children as she passes around one of the canoe’s smooth paddles. Every year, the outstretched canoe is taken on a ride through the ocean to honour its spirit, disappearing from the centre until that journey is complete.

After hearing stories about the canoes, we head to an area of the centre dedicated to giving visitors hands-on experiences, complete with a miniature canoe for children to clamber into and bear skins for us to run our fingers over.

Guests can try playing any of the many drums displayed on the wall, creating their own rhythms.

Gwen Baudisch, marketing manager of the centre, smiles as several kids begin their own drumming session and says: “Sometimes when I’m in my office, I’ll hear the most interesting songs coming from up here.”

The building gracefully winds into a final room decorated with various wool and leather outfits that belonged to the two Nations. Ten blankets hang in the centre, hand-woven by Squamish Nation weavers. In the next room, a large cage woven of cedar wool immediately attracts a young boy, who ducks into it for a photo opportunity. “Careful,” warns our guide, proceeding to tell us the story of Qalqalil, a giant woman who caught misbehaving children in her basket and carried them off in the forest. With a smile, she adds, “I was told the story of Qalqalil a lot as a child.”

We also attempt weaving cedar, as First Nations did to create everything from baskets to the ropes that held their homes together. After I’ve tied my rather dishevelled bracelet on, we duck into an istken, the centre’s replica of the traditional Lil’Wat all-weather-friendly pit-house. Then we stroll over to the centre’s open-air patio for dinner.

The delicious buffet includes crumbled sage and cheddar bannock, cedar-plank smoked salmon, and salad drizzled with a blueberry maple dressing, among other fusion Aboriginal dishes. By the end, I’m contentedly stuffed – and then proceed to have a taste of the blueberry crumble dessert, along with a cup of strong Spirit Bear coffee.

The Tuesday Night Barbeque series runs from May 17 to Sept. 17 from 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm, and is already sold out on several nights. The dinner takes place outside in the Mezzanine Patio or in Istken Hall and can comfortably seat up to 100 guests. If you’re visiting with a group of eight or more, call the Squamish Lil’Wat Cultural Centre in advance for a reservation. The barbeque costs $58 for adults and $25 for children ages 6-14 (kids under six enter for free). Admission to the centre and a tour are included in the cost of the buffet.

Click here for more information on how to add an Aboriginal experience to your next visit to British Columbia. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more experiences.

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One of my first jobs ever was cutting fish fins.  When I think back I laugh at the thought that I was given a knife at the age of five.  There I was squatting on the shore line with what seemed so huge, Chinook salmon.  They seemed almost as big as me.  Maybe they were Atom sockeye I don’t really remember paying attention because I had a job to do.  It was a warm summer day and seagulls were making their seagull noise and I was so happy.  Each fin I cut off my auntie Wilma would cheer me on.  Good work baby.  Good girl Candy.  I had older brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles all cutting, gutting, fish washing and loading the salmon up into big buckets to be brought up the beach to be washed in Granny’s kitchen so that she could can or freeze them but I still thought my job was the biggest and the most important.  Auntie Wilma made sure of that.

Already at the age of five I was attending other work projects.  I picked salmon berries and black berries, black caps, thimble berries and blueberries.  Not much, but I helped. It was always a collective effort.  We fished herring, dug cockles and clams, picked susqualnach (sea onion) and suski (salmon berry shoots).   One of my earliest memories related to labour for the sake of food was when I was three.  I sat on my dad Vincent’s shoulders as he walked in the eel grass along Porpoise Bay.  We were fishing for crabs and the easiest, most efficient way was to walk along the shore line at low tide. My dad was waded past his hips and it was a bit windy and cold in late spring.  Okay maybe that wasn’t my very first job but I was a part of the team.  The Bay was full of seafood and fish back then.

Back to my story.  I remember my dad shivering because he was cold from reaching into the water and submerging his body.  Only my feet were wet. I remember the distinct sound of the float planes flying by, the smell of the salty, clay mudflats, the distinct wet smell of the burlap potato sack that dragged in the water.  We had about four crabs that would easily feed our family of five.   My older brother Jonathan, age 5, had to keep up to our dad as he walked closer in shore.  When you go food harvesting you always get food for the Elders too.  My mom would say Elders need seafood, they grew up on it.  So on that cold windy day we trekked on to get a crab too for Granny Sarah, her cousins Uncle Don, Uncle Moses and Auntie Laura.  When we would arrive home, my mom would have the big pot of boiling water on.  The catch would be passed in through the kitchen window straight to the pot.  The rest of us had to hose off the mudflats before we could enter the house.  Dungeness crab today is still my favorite dinner.

Click here for more information on how to add an Aboriginal experience to your next visit to British Columbia. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more experiences.

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Sharon Bond, Owner of the Kekuli Café in Westbank and from the Nooiatch First Nation, shares some guidance on making tasty bannock.

Bannock is a main staple of First Nations Foods. There are millions of recipes with varying ratios of flour, sugar, salt, yeast, water and more, depending on your style of bannock. Originally the first ingredients included ground roots, flour, corn, wheat and berries.

The Kekuli Café bannock recipe is top secret so you’ll have to visit Sharon in Westbank to try it. She encourages everyone to experiment and perfect their own bannock recipe and stresses the importance of putting lots of love and good thoughts into your bannock – or it won’t taste very good!

Here is a Bannock Awareness page that was posted in celebration of National Aboriginal Day. The page offers a collection of favourite bannock related recipes and some facts about First Nations history and culture.

Food and recipes are important ways of passing on  Aboriginal traditions. View listings of Aboriginal restaurants and wineries in British Columbia or Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more traditions.

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For the First Nation and Aboriginal peoples of British Columbia, the oral transmission of histories, lessons and other ancestral knowledge – or the art of storytelling – has always been an integral part of maintaining historical records and sustaining their vibrant cultures and identities.

These stories are told as evening family entertainment to pass along local or family knowledge, in ceremonies such as potlatches, or to validate a person’s or family’s authority, responsibilities, or prestige. Relying solely on memory and improvisation, Aboriginal storytellers create an enduring legacy of tales still told in the same manner today as when they were created generations ago.

Join Christian White and Aileen Hans of the Haida Nation, Deanna Lewis of the Squamish Nation, Dennis Thomas of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and Lillian Rose of the Akisqnuk First Nation as they talk about the importance of storytelling not only to their cultures, but why they also share these ancient tales with visitors, as well.

Language is an integral part of storytelling. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more Aboriginal words as we travel British Columbia exploring “Our story. Your experience.“

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Sharon Bond of the Kekuli Café shares the Nooaitch First Nation word for the circular pit houses used by her people.

The Nooaitch First Nation is a Nlaka’pamux First Nation (commonly called the Thompson, and also Thompson River Salish) hailing from the southern interior of British Columbia. They speak the Thompson language, properly known as Nlaka’pamuctsin, which is an Interior Salishan language.

Language is an integral part of storytelling. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more Aboriginal words as we travel British Columbia exploring “Our story. Your experience.“

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Celebrations have always been a big part of Aboriginal culture in British Columbia.

Throughout the province, you can find various rodeos, pow wows, round dances and ceremonies happening during the year that celebrate and showcase ancient traditions and colourful displays.

Mike Retasket of the Secwepemc Nation shares and celebrates his culture with visitors to Klahowya Village in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. He says the province’s First Nations have opened their doors to the world, and that letting people share in their celebrations teaches them that First Nation culture is still alive and well.

Over at the Xat’sull Heritage Village in Williams Lake B.C., Mike Stinson of the Xatśūll Nation agrees, saying that sharing Aboriginal culture not only builds community, but also fosters acceptance.

Justin Hall of the Osoyoos Indian Band enjoys celebrating his culture by sharing the excellent and award-winning wines created at Nk’Mip Cellars in the Okanagan and teaching what First Nations communities can accomplish today.

Click here if you’re interested in learning more about Aboriginal celebrations and events.

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Conversation is becoming a lost art form, as well as the familial bonds that come along with it. We’d be much better off if we looked to Aboriginal cultures in British Columbia for lessons in keeping conversation and the art of storytelling alive today.

B.C.’s First Nations have relied on the oral transmission of stories, histories, lessons and other knowledge to maintain a historical record and sustain their cultures and identities. Stories are frequently told as evening family entertainment to pass along local or family knowledge. Stories are also told more formally, in ceremonies such as potlatches, to validate a person’s or family’s authority, responsibilities, or prestige.

Some stories are told only during certain seasons, at a particular time of day, or in specific places. In the same vein, some stories are meant to be heard only by specific people. These stories often teach important lessons about a given society’s culture, the land, and the ways in which members are expected to interact with each other and their environment. The passing on of these stories from generation to generation keeps the social order intact. As such, oral histories must be told carefully and accurately, often by a designated person who is recognized as holding this knowledge. This person is responsible

for keeping the knowledge and eventually passing it on in order to preserve the historical record.

Relying solely on memory and improvisation, these oral storytellers created an enduring legacy of tales still told in the same manner today as when theywere created generations ago.

So, while we prize our HD TVs and smartphones, for many First Nations, family wealth is not held or measured in the form of material items, but in their family’s own dances, songs, and stories.

You decide who enjoys a more rich family life.

Click here to learn more about adding a First Nations storytelling experience to your visit to British Columbia.

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Joyce Jack of the Cowichan Nation shares the word meaning bear in the Halkomelem language. Halkomelem is a member of the Central Salish branch of First Nation languages, and has a diverse number of dialects.

Language is an integral part of storytelling. Like our Facebook page to find out when we share more Aboriginal words as we travel British Columbia exploring “Our story. Your experience.

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