When Gloria Nahanee attended St. Paul's Indian Day School in the 1950's, she was taught Scottish, Irish, Ukrainian, Dutch, Spanish and square dances by nuns, but there was not Aboriginal dancing at the school. When the Squamish Nation held their Powwows in the 1940's and 1950's, lasting up to ten days, she sometimes ran away and hid at the other end of the field.

"I thought I had to dance", she recalls in Spirit of Powwow(2003) "The regalia and the noise scared me at first. But I can remember the stage where our ancestors, Uncle Dominic Charlie and August Jack, did the Squamish songs and dances".

Powwows at Squamish disappeared for 30 years after 1958. It was not until Nahanee's own daughter, Riannon, began spontaneously to dance at age six that she began to explore the traditional dances for her own culture. Nahanee travelled to Powwows for two years and co-founded the Squamish Nation Dancers in 1987, then organized a revival of the Squamish Powwow in 1988.

"The old spirits told me they wanted the Powwow revived", she says, "and that our young people would carry this on". The annual Squamish Powwow is now a three day event that attracts some two hundred dancers and an audience of up to four thousand. Spirit of Powwow is Nahanee's introduction to, and celebration of, powwow dances and traditions, co-written with Kay Johnston.

Packing a Spiritual Punch - Barb Brouwer

Kay Jonston went to a Squilax Powwow in the early 1970's. "I thought it was very nice, but I didn't understand what was happening", she says. "I knew there had to be more to it".

That was more than 30 years ago. Since then Johnston has learned a great deal more, discovering how important the celebration is to First Nations people. It is this importance to the culture that led her to pen Spirit of Powwow.

"I started researching years ago and discovered I had to write a book about it", she says. "I knew as well that I had to do it with a First Nations person".

Johnston, who by then had attended many Powwows, went to one at the Squamish Nation, where she met her future writing partner.

"Gloria Nahanee was introduced as the chief organizer", she says. "I just knew she was the one, so phoned her and she said yes".

Writing the book took three years and is based on interviews Nahanee facilitated on Johnston's behalf. "She calls herself the feather and me the pen", says the author with a warm smile.

Johnston says she worked to retain the First Nations voice in her book, rather than include her own views.

To launch the book, published by Vancouver's Hancock House, the Squamish Nation did a Call to Witness ceremony in North Vancouver attended by more than 300 people.

This ceremony, part of First Nations oral tradition, is held for anything that is of significance, Johnston notes with pride.

As part of the tradition, Nahanee and Johnston had to prepare a feast of traditional stew for the 300 guests, and clean up afterwards.

For Johnston, who retired last year, a move to Salmon Arm was a welcome home-coming. From 1974 to 1981, Johnston was a councillor at Salmon Arm Senior Secondary. She was seconded to the Attorney General's office in order to introduce a CounterAttack program. She did so with such success that the program was picked up by ICBC.

Available at Bookingham Palace Books, hers is an excellent book for both native and non-native people.

Spirit of Powwow provides insight into the celebration, as well as the regalia, dances, drumming and spirit of community co-operation.

"For too long non-natives have come and not fully understood the meaning of each aspect of the Powwow", writes a Sto:lo Nation couple in the book's forward. This book will finally shed some light on an area of tremendous importance in our lives".