Áma sq̓it | good dayJoin us for this historic event on Friday! Make sure to RSVP!Kúkwstum̓ckal̓ap | Thank you

I felt a lift in my heart yesterday when I saw the orange t-shirts moving around the barn, at the Pemberton Farmers Market. I thought: allies!! All these people are declaring themselves. Saying, I want to stand for a different kind of Canada. I want to stand with First Nations people, with my neighbours. I … Continue reading The day after, let’s keep walking towards each other

We can't always escape our obligations to sit by a mountain stream.But we can close our eyes and remember that we are a mountain stream.Our blood. Our bones. Our minds.Dark water rushing through caverns.Red, red iron carrying oxygen born of starlight and soft, green treetops.The nature we long to visit is out there. But it is … Continue reading We are a mountain stream. We are each other.

Maybe today, you're heading to the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, or wearing an orange shirt, or participating in a ceremony or an event. Maybe you're making a donation to the Indian Residential School Survivors Society (irsss.ca) Maybe you don't have anything planned, and you're not really sure what to do, or even if you want to. … Continue reading How to acknowledge Orange Shirt Day – a few ideas

If the work of truth and reconciliation were easy, it would be done. If crossing a massive chasm of pain, erasure, harm, hurt, were easy, we'd be on the other side, dancing and singing and eating together. If finding ways for two entirely opposite world views to align were easy, we'd be there. But it's … Continue reading Truth and reconciliation needs our hearts, as well as our brains, so how do we navigate all the uncomfortable feelings?

This piece was shared last week by American writer Courtney Martin and I thought she really nails some important insights into why it can be so hard for white folks to navigate their place and role in the racist systems we live in (and benefit from.) A word on color blindness via https://courtney.substack.com/p/a-word-on-color-blindness?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email I went … Continue reading How to come to terms with your own racism. Ouch.

CHET WA TELNEXW / SKÚLMIN’LHKALH/ WE ARE LEARNING TOGETHER Ta7talíya Michelle Nahanee, Decolonial Consultant, of Nahanee Creative Inc, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation, Snan´atcw kakusent Tanina Williams, Knowledge Keeper, Amawílc, Líl̓wat7úl Nation, and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Líl̓wat7úl Cultural Centre Ambassadors will lead an immersive course in Indigenous cultural awareness at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre on Thursday, October 6th, … Continue reading Register now for this FREE Indigenous Cultural Awareness Workshop, October 6, 8:45 – 2, at the SLCC

https://www.youtube.com/embed/AheKJMiFg4o Kík7ak Helena Edmonds, the Manager of Advanced Education at Ts'zil Learning Centre. She's worked in education for over 30 years and holds a dream for all members of the Lil'wat Nation to reach their full potential. Here, she talks about the value of land-based learning - of being able to be in a small … Continue reading Helena Edmonds talks about land based learning, blending wellness and education naturally

This is the Survivors Flag. It is on display at Signal Hill Elementary. It is an expression of remembrance. It is a powerful art work to meditate on... every single dot and stroke has layers of meaning... some of which is unpacked at https://nctr.ca/exhibits/survivors-flag/, and through words shared from survivors of the residential schools system … Continue reading The Survivors Flag is up at Signal Hill Elementary. This is what it means.

I have some pretty strong feelings about today's public holiday, foisted upon us as a last minute reaction by a federal government (and its provincial counterpart) that has been otherwise exceptional in its heel-dragging, litigious delay strategies, and utter failure of responsiveness in anything related to Indigenous people - for backroom deals that absolved the … Continue reading Today, I invite you to honour an actual matriarch, and the kings and queens inside yourselves