I was at the SLRD office yesterday to present a project wrap-up for the Wellness Almanac, and report out on the funding that powered this work for the last year, that came from the Pemberton and District Initiatives Fund. (An additional third was provided by the Lil’wat Nation.)

Unexpectedly to me, but probably not to anyone who knows me, I got a bit emotional. And took up way longer than the allotted 5 minutes, but as I did not pause for breath, there wasn’t any place for the moderator to interject and cut me off.

Scroll forwards to 57:04.

Here are the highlights:

• The Wellness Almanac has been running for 12 years, and just came to the end of a 3 year long term funding from the PDIF.
• We haven’t applied for funding again moving forward, to power the Wellness Almanac, in part because the third partner, Lil’wat Nation, supporting this project hasn’t really had any input into this funding process… they’ve agreed to match the funding after the fact, but as don’t have a similar process as the PDIF, it hasn’t really met the overall values of Nuk̓w7ántwal̓, ie helping each other to find the way. We need a different process for the three partners to come together equally to decide what initiatives or approaches will support wellness, resilience and reconciliation initiatives in this region.
• There is a project coming forth this year, in collaboration with the Pemberton and District Public Library, that was funded by the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation, and will look like a bookclub/conversation circle, that will be led by Indigenous community members. (“if you could get a bunch of people to come together and discuss something, what would you like that to look like? how can we create a safe space for harder conversations in a way that we’re not harming each other or hurting each other?” If you’re curious or want to know more or get involved, drop me an email at pembygrl@gmail.com)
• We live in a place where we have the opportunity to genuinely grapple with what reconciliation will look like. It’s personal. Our kids are in school together. We sit in the clinic waiting room together. It’s a deeply relational thing.
• A challenge I’ve found in this work over time is that it feels like we’re not doing enough, things are not changing fast enough, the things that were being flagged as social concerns and needs in this valley, on this territory in 2004 are STILL concerns and needs.
• The Wellness Almanac has been a content strategy, that is part of a larger social strategy and community engagement strategy. Those places were in play years ago, but fell away and all that has remained is the content strategy. But we really need those other pieces.
• The Community Resilience and Reconciliation survey resulted in some fascinating insights about the community – and the passion, commitment and interest there is here for community and reconciliation.
• We are all in this together. All the pressures and vulnerabilities we face, affect us all. We share these common goals, are raising families here and are depending each other for our future. Our mental health is connected to the health of the land and the health of each other.
• Most people think that “wellness, resilience and reconciliation” are what our governments should be investing in. These are the key metrics for the health and success of a community.
• Could there be a Nuk̓w7ántwal̓fund available moving forward for small projects and initiatives from community members and organizations that will centre wellness, resilience and reconciliation? This could be our community priority!

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I’ll share the survey results in a series of posts, because it’s so interesting, and will hopefully generate some kitchen table conversations.