Chief Payepot School Holds Annual Arts and Language Festival

Chief Payepot School held its eighth annual arts and language festival on Wednesday for students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. High winds and rain postponed the second performance by one week, but the event proceeded as scheduled in Piapot First Nation, about 45 kilometres north of Regina.

Students prepared since the fall to sing in their language, perform theatre and dance, and display crafts around the school.

Grade 3 student Tawnee Obey said she chose the bear because it represents Piapot. Grade 7 student Brielle Fleury said the bear takes on many meanings and is a spiritual animal in Cree culture. Grade 7 student Kyrie Bison performed a solo Michael Jackson dance and a dance requiring a spear and shield.

The festival began in 2008 as a half-hour theatre production. In 2015, four artists died in a car accident during a winter storm while traveling to an event. Since then, the community has dedicated the festival to those artists and expanded it into a broader arts and language event.

Nicole Crowe, a Piapot councillor and former school principal, said she has been involved since the festival started in 2018. Teddy Bison, fine arts co-ordinator at the school, said elders, artists and community members shared stories with students throughout the year.

"I'm really happy that we get to take all of these stories that we accumulated throughout the year and put them together for this show," Bison said.