On Friday, Signal Hill Elementary School hosted a Harvest Pit Cook. (I wrote a little bit about it on Wednesday.)

Principal Krista Brynjolfson gave a shout-out to all who’d come together to make it happen, and I wanted to share her words and some of the photos here.

It was beautiful to be there, under the bright sky and the Great Witness of Ts’zil, to be sharing food and sharing culture. I was standing among other parents, many of us who were born on other lands – Australia, Mexico, Japan, England, the US, other parts of Canada – and I was standing among people who were born here, who are Lil’wat, who are N’Quatqua. I was there because some people were willing to get up at 2am and build a pit and tend a fire and keep the fire-keeper Normal Wallace company. Because some people (Kathy and Mark Leverton) split the wood and brought it from Continental Pole. I was there because some people have been volunteering at the Signal Hill Elementary Garden to weed and build boxes, and gift seeds and plants. I was there because Tanina Williams is always looking for ways to share culture, lift up culture, create a beautiful future, provide healing, bring kids into their truth and power. I was there because Claire Fuller is an ally who listens and then writes grants, and because Lisa Vertefeuille gave her energy and time and brilliance to being the guru of the garden and the chef of the pit, and because principal Krista Brynjolfson is wild and wonderful enough to support projects like this. And I was there because of the immense generosity of Kukpi (Chief) Gélpcal Joseph, Heather Joseph, Barry Dan, Leah Dan, Tanina Williams, Fran Thevarge, who share culture and song and drumming and wise words, in ways that speak to the heart and that are meant to bring people together, and in divisive times, this is something we should cherish.

Here are some photos, and Krista’s thank you message below.

We had a number of volunteers that helped make today such a great success! The Signal Hill community thanks each and every one of you for helping prepare the tasty bannock, for providing wood for the fire, for helping get the food and supplies to the classes, and for being that extra set of hands to help everything run smoothly. There were so many helping hands and this was a successful event because of you. Thank you!

There is no way we would have been able to enjoy the delicious vegetables without the support of our marvelous garden guru, Lisa Vertefeuille! Lisa has helped our students have a hands-on experience with the garden from seed to Pit Cook. We also need to give a giant thank you to our organizer extraordinaire, Claire Fuller! The Pit Cook came to fruition through the creative inspiration and drive of Claire and Tanina Williams. Claire was able to collect the funding and rally a large number of volunteers to help make the event such a great success. All three of these ladies, along with the help of Norman Wallace, were here at 2:30am to help get the fire started. We also need to thank Barry Dan, Leah Dan, Tanina Williams, Fran Thevarge, and Heather Joseph, as well as Chief Gélpcal, for their wisdom and guidance in today’s ceremony and Pit Cook. We are all grateful for this experience and look forward to it happening again for many years to come.

Krista Brynjolfson, Principal, Signal hill Elementary