With its beginnings in 2002, Kathara has been active in sharing performances in and around the city portraying lumad culture. Led by veteran members Babette Santos and JR Guerrero adopted by the Bagobo Tagabawa tribe of Daval Del Norte on the foot of Mt. Apo, they perform lumad dance. Supported by veteran dancers Carlie David and Michael Gutierrez, Kathara continue to engage young people in performance suites, and the wider community in engagement.

Kathara, a theatrical dance group formed in 2003 had been performing in the Vancouver and the Lower Mainland area as part of a multi-disciplinary artistic & cultural exchange that was founded by Elenita Boots Dumlao and Babette Santos. Kathara performs traditional music & dance, theatre, and martial art depicting indigenous peoples of Southern Mindanao; Manobo, Bagobo Tagabawa, B’laan, Mandaya, and T’boli.

The arrival of the book Babaylan and the awareness of a growing indigenization movement within Filipino communities across Turtle Island and the Philippines propelled Kathara to ally with the Center for Babaylan Studies.

It was in 2012 when long-time Kathara members after ten years of performances decided to formalize the group into a Society. Thus, Kathara Pilipino Indigenous Arts Collective Society was born.

Self-produced events and gatherings marked Kathara’s journey toward the Third International Babaylan Conference. These milestone events include the premiere showing of Auraeus Solito’s film Busong: Palawan Fate (2012), a theatrical production called Bagobo: The New People (2013), KAPWA Sensing Ourselves in One Another: A Philippine Indigenous Arts Festival (2014), and a multi-media inter-disciplinary art presentation Empowerment Legacy of Lapu Lapu on Unceded Coast Salish Territory (2015). Kathara also capitalized on visits of Philippine champions of Indigenous Peoples' rights including visiting UN Special Rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and peace negotiator, author, and cleric Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ by engaging them in community talks.