My friend Lisa sent me a note the other day. Often she will sign off with an Ucwalmícwts word or phrase, which makes me feel special, that she is sharing something so precious to her, with me. In this note, she shared that, in one of the paper language dictionaries (as distinct from the wonderful … Continue reading The literal translation of “kúkwstum̓ckacw” “thank you”, is “you saved me.”

When I took a moment out of our holidaying hosting schedule, I discovered that Shannon Paul had left a little something in my in-box. A poem that is the most fitting final word for this blog for this year. May the spiral take you inward, outward, onward. What are we to each other, if not … Continue reading Shannon Paul shares the Amanda Gorman poem, “Closure”

Here is a gift from the voice of Gloria Wallace. When I had the chance to interview poet and linguist Robert Bringhurst at the Whistler Writers Festival this year, I said, "you write as if you think language is a living thing." "IT IS!" he declared. It is. But it needs us, to bring it to … Continue reading Lámcal, a Lil’wat prayer

As part of the reporting out to the Wellness Almanac's funders (gracias to the Pemberton and District Initiatives Fund (PDIF) from the Village of Pemberton and Area C of the SLRD, and to the Lil'wat Nation), I have been working on a slide deck reflecting on the past year. One of the things I wanted … Continue reading Build from strength

Our Secret Poetry Appreciators Society has gone quiet, but I know you're all out there. You know now, I hope, there are more of you than you imagined.. people holding little gems of word packages close to their hearts, in their pockets, for low moments, for 2am moments, for joyful moments, for shared moments. Kerry … Continue reading The Bell and the Blackbird: Kerry Dorey reads a poem by David Whyte

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4KIPukfWoVEhOYgqhmZKric30MnT8vPsuYkcZBnBBF9PEJw/viewform More than 80 people have shared their take on where things are at, personally, and where we could go next, collectively, in our Community Survey. I'll be sharing results January 11, at the PVUS meeting, and need to load them up into presentation by January 3, so we've extended the deadline. If you have … Continue reading Deadline extended to Jan 3. Take a minute over your holidays to share.

I first moved to Pemberton in the late 90s. It was mostly driven by friends in the ski school who had a laundry room we could sleep in, so we could lob in as we lived between here and Australia. When the Australia part of our life ended, we had to choose: where do we … Continue reading Look for the helpers. You’ll know there’s always hope.

If a daily blog isn't the most effective use of resources, to help the inhabitants of this region genuinely address truth and reconciliation, and become a resilient and trauma-informed community, I brainstormed a bunch of ideas, of things we could do. Your ideas are welcome too. Take the survey and let us know, which of … Continue reading What could we do?