The Stories That Brought You Here is a home-spun podcast by resident Chris Wakaluk about the people who have built their lives on Pender Island. Each month, we are pleased to present a story from a recent episode. Full conversation.
With incredible support from Robert Dill, president of The South Island Historical Society, I had the amazing opportunity to meet and speak with a number of W̱SÁNEĆ elders last year.
Over the course of many months, Robert and I travelled to Vancouver Island, and together, co-interviewed W̱SÁNEĆ elders in order to learn more about their unique history, and their traditional connection to their Salish Sea Homeland including S,DÁYES (South Pender Island). What came of these interviews was an eight-part podcast series titled “W̱SÁNEĆ – The Saltwater People”.
In recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30, we’d like to highlight some of these interviews. The conversations were incredibly rich in storytelling, history and spirit. I encourage anyone with an interest in First Nations history, or local history, to give some time and listen to the words spoken by these incredible voices. There is a multitude of important information shared within these recordings.
Here are descriptions from four of those interviews.
SELILIYE (Belinda Claxton) a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, told us about her time as a young girl spent on S,DÁYES, harvesting clams and witnessing members of her community participating in traditional practices. She also spoke about the importance of preserving their traditional SENĆOŦEN language, connections to the Lummi Nation, and some of the challenging situations she faced while attending day school as a child.
J,SIṈTEN (John Elliott) a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, detailed decades of time spent working at the ȽÁU, WELṈEW̱ Tribal School and the important work he has done, along with many others, to help preserve the SENĆOŦEN language. He emphasized the deep importance of the land and the natural environment to the W̱SÁNEĆ people.
Eric Pelkey
Eric Pelkey, the Hereditary Chief of Tsawout of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation, recalled his family’s reef net fishery which existed near Bedwell Harbour on S,DÁYES. He also shared some ancient stories and history of S,DÁYES and explained why that land is deeply important to the W̱SÁNEĆ people. And he shared stories as told to him by family members who witnessed a sea monster, which is believed to have once lived in the Pender Canal.
Mavis Underwood
Mavis Underwood, a W̱SÁNEĆ elder, had been working to promote betterment in opportunities for First Nations, and to influence needed social change in the areas of education, human and social development, health, and housing. She told us about her lifetime of work in these areas, shared lessons learned from her mother and father while growing up, and read a powerful poem she wrote just after the birth of her first daughter.