In celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Month this October, the NCCA spearheads Dayaw: Indigenous Peoples Festival 2010 in Manila. The event is organized by the NCCA Sub-commission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (SCCTA), headed by Domingo A. Bakilan, and Ugnayang Pang-Aghamtao, (UGAT) in cooperation with several agencies and local governments.

The festival gathered indigenous ethnic groups in the country to participate in cultural exchanges and presentations highlighting significant aspects of their way of life, both material and non-material culture and tradition. This is in pursuant of Presidential Proclamation 1906, declaring October as Indigenous Peoples Month.

The NCCA has been celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Month for several years now in the country’s major regions. In 2007, it supported Kalimudan: Panaghi-usa sa Mindanao (Mindanao Indigenous Peoples’ Gathering) held in Davao City in November, featuring Mindanao’s ethnic groups. The following year, Timpuyog: Indigenous People Month Celebration in Luzon was held in Santiago City, Isabela, focusing on Luzon ethnic groups and featuring performances, arts and crafts workshops, cultural awareness lectures, forums, tours and a theme-park exhibition featuring the traditional houses, cultural resources, practices/rituals, chants, music, songs and dances, stories, traditional arts and crafts, indigenous games. Last year, the Indigenous Peoples Festival was held in Roxas City, Capiz, called Dungog, with similar activities and aims.

Dayaw: Indigenous Peoples Festival 2010, “provided venue for indigenous peoples (IP) to celebrate the richness of their cultures; allow cultural exchanges that will foster deeper cultural understanding to sustain a culture of peace; provide opportunity to discuss IP rights; give students and other people a chance to deepen their awareness and appreciation of indigenous cultures; recognize the expertise and contributions of indigenous communities; and advocate for the prevention as well as integration of traditional culture into the national cultural mainstream”

Like in previous celebrations, the festival features activities such as performances, exhibitions, forums, lecture-demonstrations and workshops; and display of arts and crafts produced by traditional specialists and artists.

Leaders of almost 110 indigenous peoples of the country gathered to discuss the issues that beset their communities and to seek solutions in a forum at the Museum of the Filipino People of the National Museum.

The Dayaw Festival is in cooperation with the city government of Manila, the National Museum, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Department of Education, Department of Tourism, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Foreign Affairs, Commission on Higher Education and the National Commission for Muslim Affairs.