powwow in Kamloops, B.C. have issued their “sincerest apologies” after the event rules posted to their Facebook page sparked significant public outrage.According to a Tuesday post, contestants in the 41st Annual Kamloopa Powwow must be “at least (1/4) Native Blood,” and proof of “tribal identification/status may be required.” The rules also stated that dancers must wear full regalia and “be of the correct gender for that category.”The rules sparked immediate backlash, with some social media users accusing the Kamloopa Powwow Society (KPS) of enforcing colonial blood quantum, excluding gender diverse and two-spirit people, and upholding transphobia.“My deepest sympathy to those who have been hurt and harmed in that posting,” said an organizer in a video posted to the group’s Facebook page on Wednesday. “The KPS board has been able to meet to discuss how we’re going to move forward and looking at those rules and making our wrong right.”Global News has reached out to the KPS for comment on this story.
Second annual convoy to Kamloops, B.C. honours the ‘lost souls’ of residential school The term “blood quantum” refers to a colonial blood measurement practice used to determine who can obtain government-issued Indigenous status and who can pass it onto to their children.