Peter White comes from the Yaqan Nukiy tribe (Creston, BC), which is apart of the Ktunaxa Nation (Kootenay).
Around the age of nine, he started out dancing in the Grass category, but due to moving away from his home community and many other obstacles, he stopped dancing after three years.
When Peter was diagnosed with cancer in his top of my right foot of May 2016. His first reaction, which is normal, was "why me?" -
But when he was driving home from the BC Cancer Agency, he just knew this was his sign that he needed a change in his life and this was a push off the ledge that started to make everything fall into place.
For sometime before he was diagnosed, he like many others had the thought someday I will start powwow dancing. He started to attend local powwows on weekends, started to meet people in the community, but he kept pushing it off for the “right time.”
Life is always giving us signs, we just tend to overlook them, Peter knew in his gut that this was my sign.
He is a Men’s traditional dancer, the dance originates from the Sioux people (Lakota, Dakota, Nakoda.) It’s one of the oldest known dances to Turtle island, it is a war dance.
This dance touched him because he is a warrior myself, being a cancer survivor, someone who was once homeless due to his addiction to alcoholism and depression this dance has helped bring out the inner warrior in him.
He has now travelled over North American sharing and learning the Men's Northern traditional dance, he has opened up for gatherings such as S&B on the fly in YVR airport, Canada Day celebrations, been Interviewed by Local News, and has been in a movie that showcased his dancing.
suʔkni (thank you) Taxa