The Village of Pemberton paused its Official Community Plan to ensure that there was a good framework for relating with the Lil'wat Nation in place, before they committed any other things to an OCP. That feels like an opportunity to re-cast our community vision... I've been trying to shape mine for a while... instead of … Continue reading Dream the Future: the final responses to the Wellness Almanac Community Survey asking “what’s your vision?”

Dream big, we said. What kind of initiatives serving wellness, resilience and reconciliation would you like to see supported more broadly? Please add your ideas to the brainstorm below.  63.4% of survey respondents said they support a drug and alcohol treatment centre - a goal that was suggested by the original Winds of Change document … Continue reading Community Survey Question 23: a glorious brainstorm

We asked: "Do you think our communities (eg the Village of Pemberton, SLRD and Lil'wat Nation) should invest in community wellness, resilience and reconciliation?" Overwhelmingly, survey respondents said YES. Yes yes Absolutely 100% absolutely Yes. Absolutely! I believe they are. Yes yes Yes, it would be great to see leadership and collaboration Yes, but only … Continue reading Community Survey Questions 21 – 22: Should our communities invest in wellness, resilience and reconciliation?

If on retiring the Wellness Almanac, we turn it into a static website/resource library, are there particular articles or topics you’d like to be able to maintain access to for reference?  Seasonal wisdom and events, like a phenology kind of calendar. Access to Lorna Williams teachings. I must say that the idea of the Wellness … Continue reading Community Survey Question 20: If on retiring the Wellness Almanac, we turn it into a static website/resource library, are there particular articles or topics you’d like to be able to maintain access to for reference? 

I'm a communications person, and at its essence, the Wellness Almanac has really been a communications strategy. It was originally a piece of a larger social strategy, that also had a community engagement component - a Steering Committee of people working on social services, sharing and supporting each other in regular meetings, an annual Wellness … Continue reading Community Survey Question 18 and 19: What is your main source of local news/info/upcoming events

The questions we asked about people's familiarity with the Wellness Almanac, and how they'd rate it's contribution to their resilience and engagement with truth and reconciliation were primarily to assess how wide we had managed to disseminate the survey... was it just regular readers and fans? Thanks to the help of the Lil'wat Nation and … Continue reading Community Survey Questions 15-17: has the Wellness Almanac been helpful?

What do you most need, personally, to strengthen your engagement in reconciliation? More than half of the survey respondents offered specific needs or options. Spaces to connect with people, and be able to ask stupid questions. Knowledge in how to be a good ally and not do harm, while also uplifting my own ancestry. keep … Continue reading Community Survey Question 14: What do you most need, personally, to strengthen your engagement in reconciliation

I was curious when I drafted this question to see if people felt that we were making more/better or different progress at a local community level, than at a national level... and that seemed to be the feeling, which I attribute to the opportunity we have here to have more close relationships or genuine interactions … Continue reading Community Survey Questions 12 + 13: Where is Canada, vs Pemberton, at in terms of truth and reconciliation

Personal relationships and conversations, far and away, are the more transformative thing for many of us. The privilege of having conversations with Lil'wat and N’Quatqua, folk, particularly Tanina Williams, Lisa Sambo, Gelpcal Joseph, Wayne Andrew, Maxine Bruce. I work with Indigenous Communities Every conversation with Lisa Sambo I'm so very lucky to have lived and … Continue reading Community Survey Question 11: What else has deepened your personal engagement with truth and reconciliation

When I read the survey responses, I expected, honestly, to hear more people say "it's a waste of time", or "virtue-signalling/tokenism", because that's what my reading of the mainstream media, the toxic comments section of bullshit publications like the Vancouver Sun, or the Pemberton Community Forum page, sometimes makes me think everyone thinks. But actually, … Continue reading Community Survey Question 10: How have the efforts of community groups, with respect to reconciliation, impacted you?