What started out as a grey, rainy day on February 12th slowly turned beautiful as we made it up Tetuxutun Mountain. It was a day for reminding us that getting back to the mountain is always good for our spirit.  We remember where we come from and how important it is to connect with the land and teach the young ones to connect to their ways.

A flat spot was chosen for the Elders, and we setup camp.

Nicki Westholme’s class from Qwam Qwum School came along to learn about the mountain we came from.  They were taught why we return the bones and how this honors the animal and keeps the balance of nature and life.

Lolly Good and Gary Manson both brought their drums and honored us with songs as well as teaching the students to sing those songs. Lolly brought some of her musical instruments for the kids to play.

We shared food prepared by the Mental Health staff and roasted sausages and marshmallows on the fire.

The sun shone while Lolly Good looked to the south and sang “O Ce Cun ehw”.

We ended our day just as the storm clouds started to gather and began shedding rain. As we wound our way back down the mountain there was a good feeling for having returned to the place of our beginnings and reconnected once more with our mother earth and our fellow community members.

An Eagle watched us descend and the rainbow painted our way back down to Snuneymuxw.

It was an uplifting day and we on the Mental Health Team want to thank the First Nation Health Authority for the funds to put on this event.

Thanks to Chris Good, Juan Moreno and crew for finding us a place to gather, for the fire and the teachings.

Thanks to Lolly and Gary for their wisdom and songs, and the Elders who despite the rain, came out to support the youth.

Thanks to our youth who came with us for their interest and respect in the land and our ways.

Hay ch ‘qu, Chris Leischner