Honouring baby ceremony celebrates little ones from newborns to four year-olds in a community on the cusp of establishing land-based programming.
The low fall sun grazed the mountains as the September breeze touched the faces and bringing with it the smells of the season to those attending the ceremony.
For Ashley Crey, Head Start Advisor for the Maternal Child and Family Health Team in the Fraser Salish region, it meant taking a moment in the parking lot at Chawathil First Nation to place and remind herself the celebration she was attending was tied to all of this: the sky, the land, the breeze and the seasons.
Chawathil has been interested in expanding Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve (AHSOR) programming. Through their initiative and hard work and with the support of the First Nation Health Authority's (FNHA) Fraser Salish Maternal Child and Family Health Team, they are now transitioning to an AHSOR Outreach/Land -Based funded program with 24 free child spaces.
FNHA funded AHSOR programs work with communities to locally design, deliver, and access wrap-around family wellness services supports such as: outreach, land-based learning, parent education and links to early intervention and prevention services. The program values and focuses on childhood learning and development from birth to age six in culture and language, education, health promotion, nutrition, parent and family involvement and social support.
As part of this transition, Chawathil coordinated an Honouring ceremony on September 12, 2024, to celebrate children from newborns to four-year-olds. The first in seven years, the celebration embraced the connections of parents, families and community.
The Master of Ceremonies, Shane John, called on Naomi John (Education/HeadStart Coordinator), Terrylynn Johnson (Education Coordinator) and Lucy Gouwenberg (Recreation Coordinator) to lay down cedar boughs to give strength and to cleanse not only the little ones, but also everyone in the room. With clear hearts and minds, the little ones were receiving strength through the ceremony. Shane acknowledged the importance of this strength for “future leaders on the way" acknowledging there “might be a few of them here".
The children were blanketed to represent that they are cared for and loved, circling the gymnasium as the Chawathil Teltiyt Salish Dancers danced around and with them. This was the first performance for the group in their community, but they were already cohesive and enthusiastic.
Once seated in the centre of the room, the parents and their children looked on as several songs and dances were performed around them. Some of the smaller children joined the group led by the older dancers. Before finishing for the evening, the youth requested one more dance. Their faces were marked, connecting them to the earth. This final dance, the beat of the drums, and the voices carrying through the space grew to an energy that illustrated the commitment to the work being done.
Figure 1 Attendees share their love with the babies and family
Organizers Naomi, Terrylynn and Lucy spoke to the group and provided bags of supplies to the new families. Now they will maintain ongoing connection and support with the Fraser Salish Maternal Child and Family Health Team. Continuing their work alongside others, they seek to increase AHSOR support to families and children within the community. They also hope to end the gaps between Honouring ceremonies, and plan to continue with them seasonally.
“From the youngest to oldest, dancers and drummers were Chawathil" shared Naomi after the event. “This was a big heart for me." She would like to acknowledge BC Aboriginal Child Care Society for their support, as well as the FNHA Aboriginal Head Start On-Reserve.
