National Indigenous Peoples Day was celebrated from sunrise to sunset Tuesday at the Tsq’escen First Nation (Canim Lake Band).
Oshen Frank, the band’s wellness assistant, who co-organized the day with wellness manager Carmon Pete, said the full-day event was done in order to give every community member a chance to celebrate. From early morning sweat lodges for men and women to arts and crafts, Frank said there was something for everyone.
“It’s just a day of togetherness, both coming together as a community and also welcoming surrounding communities into our community,” Frank said. “It’s important to acknowledge where we are… our ancestors have been here for so many years and it’s important to acknowledge our heritage, that we’re Indigenous.”
The day included indigenous bingo, women’s bean games, a fishing derby, minigames, game tables and children’s bouncy castles. On the spiritual side, cultural enrichment worker Joseph Archie and program coordinator Tom Ned travelled an hour into the bush to offer prayer ties to Mother Earth, as their ancestors did.
“Mother Earth has provided us with so much and this is something we used to do a long time ago but now we’re getting back into those older ways of doing things,” Ned said. “When we take something from Mother Earth, it’s always nice to give something back.”
READ MORE: Public invited to Indigenous Day events in Clinton and Canim Lake
Ned said he’s hopeful that more band members will take up the old traditions when they hunt or forage in the woods. He added it’s nice “to get out on the land” to conduct ceremonies.
Chief Helen Henderson said she was happy to connect with the community on National Indigenous Peoples Day. Henderson said it was exciting to be able to gather and celebrate as a community again after two years of COVID-19 social distancing.
“In that isolation, we had a lot of time to reflect on our lives and what’s important to us,” she said. “Today is about healing, enjoying each other’s time and offering up our prayers to the Creator that we have a good summer.”
Part of the path to reconciliation, she said, is to celebrate days like National Indigenous Peoples Day and form new relationships with neighbouring communities. Henderson said she was proud that several members of the band were attending celebrations in other communities, including Williams Lake and Clinton.
108 Mile Ranch resident Catherine Davis, a Ministry of Forests strategic planning worker, was one of the non-Indigenous people who attended the celebrations with her daughter Macy Cunningham.
“It’s a pretty sensitive time right now but for them to invite us all in to be together is pretty important,” Davis said. “There are events at Macy’s school today but I thought being here means so much more. The Indigenous population is a very important part of who we are (as Canadians.)”
patrick.davies@100milefreepress.net
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