8th Edition Celebrating Authenticity and Indigenous Youth

In 2025, the KWE! Festival welcomed over 21,000 visitors under sunny skies, offering a diverse program with conferences, demonstrations, workshops, music, film, and more.

Festival highlights: the 11 Nations interactive map, the Garden of hearts, the Knowledge trail of the 11 Nations featuring live demonstrations, the Indigenous literature Space hosted by Librairie Hannenorak, the Resto-Kwe food counter with its Indigenous-inspired menu, and game meat cooking over an open fire. Cultural performances remained at the heart of the event, with Pow Wow dance demonstrations and legends sessions during the day, outdoor films and musical "happy hours" in the evening.

Conferences once again played a key role. The Biodiversity and Environment Space highlighted Indigenous-led initiatives focused on land and environment, while the Let’s talk about it Space fostered meaningful conversations with speakers from various Indigenous Nations on topics such as authenticity, youth, dignity, and reconciliation.

New this year: the Knowledge trail of the 11 Nations, offering interactive demonstrations of traditional know-how unique to each Nation, and the Forest of the 11 Languages to listen to the 11 Indigenous languages in Quebec. The 2025 edition also introduced a Tea Space hosted by elders, an Indigenous FabLab workshop, and Vox Pop: The KWEstion.

Finally, the Desjardins Youth & Family Space was enhanced to offer even more fun and educational activities: Legends, face painting, children’s films, crafting of medicine bags and dream sticks, and an introduction to lacrosse.