Karen J: October 2016

SELF-CARE AND ACTIVE LIVING

The Indian Residential Schools had devastating inter-generational harm for the Nlaka’pamux people. Residential school has caused my culture, my history, my language, my people’s spiritual connection to the life force itself to be lost to many of the Nlaka’pamux people. In return I received a “void” creating an internal imbalance. My elders have to rewrite history because it shapes us and defines us. The true identity of the aboriginal people was purposefully stolen, and lost by stealing our children and outlawing the teaching of the elders and our very way of thinking. This disconnects from the knowledge of our arts, our stories, our spiritual ceremonies, our languages, and our history resulting in a disconnection with my inner self. So I ask myself who am I, really?

To determine the answer to these questions and for understanding and balance I sought out what was taken. What I found was a proposed comfort and calming through cultural activities, specifically aboriginal. I believe the aboriginal medicine wheel that is thousands of years old and passed down by the elders and traditional healers is a holistic approach to defining wellbeing and determining self-care not only for aboriginal people, but for all people. Aboriginal people use the symbol of the circle to show the interrelationship of nature and the association to all of creation. Most medicine wheels are in circles and have the concept of four directions in order to illustrate a certain balance and equality. For my personal self-care:

1. Within my medicine wheel I am at the center and on the outside circle is the universe.

2. I have four directions the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

3. I have three associates the future, past, and here and now. This is to give more definition for my path.

4. One moves in a left to right direction like the sun.

5. A circle gives the everlasting cycle of beginning and ending.

6. The intention of my medicine wheel like most is to try a variety of personalities on our excursion along the cycle of life.

7. I have the heart at the center of the medicine wheel to give a certain rhythm to distinguish internal balance.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=medicine+wheels&espv=2&biw=1160&bih=608&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwilt8T0zffPAhUK2GMKHW7aAxoQsAQILwA

Therefore the most important history is the Nlaka’pamux history we are making today. I started my journey to find who I was with actively living my Nlaka’pamux and Indigenous culture. I’m currently going to the Sweat Lodge ceremony with my children where we meet other people in the Aboriginal community who are also engaged in Aboriginal spiritual practices. After we sweat and pray we all ate the traditional food we brought to the ceremony. For years, like my ancestors, my brother and my children and I would go fishing along the Fraser River each summer and then we would can, smoke, and dry it for the winter. In my grandmother’s footsteps, my sister and my children and I would go berry picking and then do canning for the winter. Many members of the Aboriginal community have taught my children. We have made drums with elk hide and then painted and smudged them. We would do beading and button blankets and have made traditional dress for the sweat and ceremonies. Our family would always make time to go and gather sage for smudging our home. This herb aids in cleansing our minds and helps purge a negative environment. Our Nlaka’pamux language is almost extinct and yet, I continue to look for my Elders to teach it to me. My grandparents were fluent speakers, but for some reason they refuse to teach me our language, but I think it has to do with the fact they are still dealing with their Residential School issues. In order to ask the Creator for help at the “asking rock” I visit the sacred area of our community in Stein Valley whenever I am able and then I pray along the river. I recently made a medicine bag that holds my sacred medicines, such as sage, sweet grass, and crystals. My spirituality has become a huge part of my life and helps me walk in a good way. I carry it for guidance, healing and protection. Every chance I get to go to an Aboriginal event or to make a drum, bead, dance, or sing I participate. This feeling I get from the culture that was taken away from me, a peaceful and a well-being feeling, like I have found something that was lost. This connection with my inner self and a spirituality for me and my children for here and now and for the future. Our future is our history. Whenever I can, or whenever I am in need, I go through the porthole of my community; which means going to talk with my Elder’s, being on the land and talking to the Creator.

I believe the interconnections of the circle can guide the process of understanding and education for the future, knowing is just the beginning. Wholeness requires that we look at the entire picture and by doing this we will see everything not just parts, but all of the pieces of the puzzle. Once the puzzle is put together one can see the whole picture. Interrelationship is when we establish a personal relationship with our whole being the big picture. By pursuing and learning about my Nlaka’pamux culture and being involved with cultural activities helps me recognize that the life force and earth is sacred and this gives me strength on my path to seeing the whole picture or being a healthy person. My reasons for joining the Heal program are because it is a piece of the puzzle for understanding and education for the future generations.

Traditional songs and dances were stories handed down through families. Between this sharing of tradition the family of elders, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, sons, daughters created a rich and caring familial bonding. This bonding is the backbone and strength of a culture.
The laws to facilitate assimilation of the aboriginal people strove to negate the traditions, thus robbing the people of this strength. Legally kidnapping children, imprisoning them, torturing them, forbidding them of their language, spirituality, family bonding. The 'schools' were only shut down in 1996, so, this recent history has effected the generations detrimentally.
In BC alone, there are almost 200 different bands and nations and around 30 different aboriginal languages. This means there is a large diverse number of dances, culture, and traditions. We are not all the same and it is important to recognize this because it is one of the main reasons for putting on Indigenous days for the first nation student society. These songs and dances give the first nation peoples a sense of personal empowerment that is also healing.

We had the Git Hayetsk dancers; KwhliGbaku dancers; Kulu dancers; Urban Kwakwak'awiku Cultural group; Tzo'any and Gtsatsu Stalquyu dancers perform.