SAVE THE DATE!
Friday, September 11th, 2026
Saturday, September 12th, 2026
Sunday, September 13th, 2026
Langley Events Centre, BC
An immersive, 3 day cultural event.
On behalf of the stɑl̓əw̓ Arts and Cultural Society, with our head office located on Kwantlen First Nation land in Fort Langley, we are delighted and honoured to host the Fourth annual stɑl̓əw̓ pow-wow to be held September 11th, 12th and 13th, 2026 at the Langley Events Centre.
stɑl̓əw̓ translates to big river in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language, and our name is intended to reflect the eternal importance and generosity of the Fraser River to Indigenous communities living along its shores from its inland reaches to where it meets the ocean, as well as represent the many connections we have with each other and to this important and sacred place that we all share and call home. Rivers connect and enable sharing and new opportunities – and we wish for the stɑl̓əw̓ pow-wow to be an event that shares, honours and creates new opportunities to celebrate rich Indigenous traditions and build important and lasting connections.
We would like to extend our warmest greetings to all our visitors and participants to our Fourth Annual Pow-wow. The purpose of our pow-wow is to celebrate Indigenous culture, traditions, music, regalia and art. It is a time to celebrate and preserve our rich heritage and keep traditional ways alive. We welcome you to share in the experience of learning the important role tradition plays and how these traditions define Indigenous culture. We hope you enjoy the pow-wow and return home safely with lasting and renewed friendships and lots of wonderful memories!
We would like to express our gratitude to our partners, for their support of the stɑl̓əw̓ Pow-wow in order to spread awareness and excitement amongst their viewers. We also would like to thank all the businesses, sponsors, committee members and volunteers for their assistance and participation which has made this event such a success in our community.
We are extremely grateful to the Township of Langley, who is also one of our lead partners in hosting this event, for their generous support of securing this incredible venue for us. Thank you for making our dream of hosting one of the largest pow-wow events in the Lower Mainland/Metro Vancouver become a reality!
stɑl̓əw̓ Arts & Cultural Society is an Indigenous women-led registered charity, located on the unceded territory of Kwantlen First Nation. Click below to learn more about our registered charity.
The stɑl'əw̓ Eagle Staff
Aubrey Lafortune, from Tsawout First Nation in Saanich, BC. Stalew Arts & Cultural Society commissioned Aubrey to carve a new staff for our 4th annual stɑl'əw̓ Pow Wow.
The pow wow begins with Grand Entry, in which all of the dancers participate. The Grand Entry procession is lead by the Eagle Staff. The Eagle staff represents our nations, our elders, our way of life.
We asked Aubrey to carve the following on our staff to represent stɑl'əw̓ = big river or Fraser River in Kwantlen territory, where our office is located:
p̓ɑq̓əs = Eagle wearing a cedar hat with Eagle feathers on top
The eagle symbolizes highest spiritual power, representing wisdom strength courage, an connection to the creator, the eagle is the strongest and bravest of all birds, making it a powerful symbol, and are always on top of talking sticks, totem poles an figures, eagle feathers are treated with great respect.
stqɑyeʔ = wolf
The wolf symbolizes positive traits, loyalty, family, intelligence, courage, wisdom, teacher of cooperation and survival skills, wolves are social pack animals, they embrace the power of teamwork a strong family ties, wolf is a powerful and revered creature, the natural world wolf is associated with strength, communication, and leadership.
qʷtɑyθən = sturgeon
Sturgeon is vital for native people along the river, providing food, strength and nourishment during the harsh winter months, when the salmon would run out, sturgeon would provide nourishment to ensure they would not starve.
sce:łtən = salmon
People of the land must treat the salmon with great respect and make sure that all the bones were put back into the river with a ceremony honouring the salmon, to make sure there was a plentiful return the following year.
About
Aubrey Lafortune (born 1966) comes from a family of very talented and well-known artists in Tsawout First Nation in Saanich. There are eight sisters and six brothers of which he is the youngest brother. He began carving under the guidance of his brothers, Doug Lafortune and Frances Horne, who were instrumental in teaching him the background on his ancestry and ways in which to depict images in a traditional format. He closely studied their techniques and very rapidly created artwork of high caliber. As his knowledge developed so did his execution.
Aubrey favours carving in red cedar and alder wood. He is a versatile artist who creates such artworks as rattles, masks, totems, bowls and sculptures. He is known for his exquisite style and innate quality to achieve dimension and depth with the inclusion of fine detail. Therefore, many of Aubrey's pieces are collected privately on national and international levels and are highly sought-after.
Throughout the years Aubrey has collaborated with his brother Doug on full size totem poles that are currently standing in various public locations in Duncan, British Columbia. This is one of the reasons Duncan became known as the 'City of Totems' along the West Coast.
Aubrey is very dedicated to his artwork as it is his livelihood. He is also an avid member of his community and often participates in ceremonial functions to further enhance his knowledge of the traditions and practices of his people. He is a wonderful example for future generations of artists.
With his brother Tom, Aubrey LaFortune have taught prison inmates how to design and carve a totem pole. They worked closely with Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre's Indigenous cultural liaison, Max Henry. The project began in the summer 2021 with a view to providing inmates with a greater sense of community and connection with the land they're on, whether Indigenous or not.
LaFortune's carvings are illustrated in the book Northwest Carving Traditions by Karen & Ralph Norris (available for viewing at Coast Gallery).