Healing through dance: production brings Coast Salish story to life

Photos and story by Cara McKenna

An upcoming dance production will tell a Coast Salish story about the sun and moon through movement and music.

A contemporary dance titled The Sun and the Moon is based on Snuneymuxw author Celestine … Read More

‘Ignorance is no accident’: UBC apologizes to residential school survivors

By Cara McKenna

The education system has perpetuated ignorance around residential schools and therefore must bear part of the responsibility for the damage inflicted on survivors and their families.

That was the message that guests heard at the opening of … Read More

Students, elders connected through poetry

By Cara McKenna

High school students Amos Harris and Isobel Smith each held one of Stz’uminus Elder Buffy David’s hands as they walked across the stage of the Port Theatre in Nanaimo on April 4.

The Ladysmith Secondary students wrote … Read More

Snuneymuxw artist honoured for saving traditional style

By Julie Chadwick

When Coast Salish artist and carver William Good first started out, there weren’t many other Snuneymuxw artists creating in their own traditional style.

“We did a lot of artwork but it wasn’t really our artwork, our own … Read More

Weekly program empowers girls at Malahat Nation

By Cara McKenna

A weekly group at Malahat Nation is empowering girls ages eight to 14 through culture, critical thinking, food and feminism.

The program called Circles of Care-Circles of Courage has been running each Thursday at Malahat for nearly … Read More

Maintaining our rivers

By Celestine Aleck (Sahiltiniye), Snuneymuxw First Nation

Before colonization, we as Coast Salish people always took care of our own territory. We did this to give back to Mother Earth, who has always taken care of us. In our village … Read More

Revitalizing sharing, gifting and trading

By Andrew Bak, Tsawwassen First Nation

Coast Salish people had always been wealthy.

From time out of mind, our ancestors lived in the big houses, which were strategically located within our territories; close to the waters which gave us sustenance, … Read More

Homalco members visit historic masks

Photos and story by Todd Peacey, Homalco First Nation

In 2010, I discovered some Homalco First Nation-carved masks—said to be the oldest known existing masks from our community—were being housed at the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria. The masks are … Read More

‘Deep Roots’ radio gives platform to Klahoose voices

By Cara McKenna

The second season of a community radio show and podcast from Klahoose territory gives a platform to Indigenous voices as it digs deeper into stories from the nation.

Cortes Radio’s Deep Roots program launched its first season … Read More

Kwantlen guides teach through Salish stories

Standing in front of a blazing fire, Kwantlen Nation storyteller Fern Gabriel (Sesmelot) shared the story of how salmon came to her people with about two dozen guests at what’s now known as the Fort Langley Historical Site.

The story … Read More