History
History
Abstract
The Cultus Lake Festival, organized by the Stó:lo people of the Fraser Valley, hosts an annual princess contest. This work aims to present my findings on the history of the princess contest. The main objective is to examine the changes in the contest over the years. The study is based on both oral and written sources: interviews with five Stó:lo women that took part in the contest, a number of editions of the Chilliwack Progress and a special piece of the Sqwélqwels Ye Stó:lo, the Stó:lo Nation Newsletter. The festival started in 1958, the year of the British Columbia Centennial, and the indian princess contest has been an important feature of the event since then. For years, Indigenous teenage girls would sign up and run for princess, with the main purpose to sell raffle tickets and raise money to support the festival. In recent decades, the contest has undergone significant changes. Although raising money for the festival is still important, the contest has focused more on promoting Stó:lo culture. In addition, it has become a space where young women reflect about female empowerment and gendered stereotypes.
Juliana Schneider Medeiros (Visiting PhD student, University of Saskatchewan)