Address:

#102 3105 28th Ave
Vernon, British Columbia
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Category:

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Event Details:

Join us the last Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. for indigenous poetry nights at Gallery Vertigo.

Margo Tamez and Debbra Butler aim to inspire indigenous peoples in the North Okanagan to connect with their ancestral tradition of storytelling by participating in the indigenous poetry nights at Gallery Vertigo which are held the last Thursday of each month,

“Poetry for us is a very important tool and method for getting down to key stories, truths and remembering,” Tamez added. “Memory, globally, is a big area of social inquiry. The value of human memory, that’s something important to capture and nurture. For indigenous peoples to be able to uncover what happened to us, that’s very important for creativity.”

Margo Tamez, of Apache origin born and raised in southwestern Texas, moved to the Okanagan in 2010 to teach and contribute to the expansion of UBCO’s indigenous studies degree program.

Debbra Butler, who is of Thompson indigenous ancestry from Lytton, B.C. attends UBCO, seeking a Bachelor’s Degree, Majoring in Indigenous Studies.

“Art influences health and well-being. People can sort of recreate their lives through self-determination,” Tamez said. “We want to create a safe space for indigenous peoples who want to craft their voice and vision through poetry and creative writing.”