The Bridge River Indian Band, on traditional St’at’imc territory, hosted a Wellness event to honour their ancestors and celebrate their grandfathers. Elders and community members began the day’s activities with a short 45-60 minute walk to the Xwisten Tourism Centre to take part in The Grandfather Salmon Cutting Challenge. The winner of this challenge completed the task in just under one minute and 30 seconds.
In the midst of the day’s events, storytellers and tour guides spoke of the history and culture around traditional salmon fishing practices. These stories were so interesting that many of the tourists and bystanders joined the circle to listen. The feeling of community and storytelling was comforting for many of the Elders and had them reminiscing about their younger days.
"It has been a long time since we got together and I would like it to continue every year," noted one participant. "Long time ago, we used to gather together to have races and a big meal."
After the Challenge, visitors and community members were treated to a Salmon BBQ before heading back to the Health Centre for a serious game of Bubble Ball and a healthy dinner. Never heard of Bubble Ball? The game is similar to soccer—except all the players are wrapped in giant plastic bubbles! The active and sometimes chaotic game was great fun and had one Elder commenting, "I’ve never seen anything like this; I haven’t laughed so much in a long time."
According to the organizers, this event was really successful—especially considering there are so many competing activities at this time of year, from parent/teacher meetings to sports days and other year-end events. The community plans to hold next year’s Wellness event on or near National Aboriginal Day, 2016.