Bear Root

Bear Root is a root that bears eat when they first come out of hibernation. Cynthia Myran, Xyólheméylh Elder, says you have to go way up into the mountains for find bear root. It can be dried and used as a tea, a tincture or just chewing it. It is good for energy, tooth aches, an immune system builder, for heart and gut issues. It is also used in ceremonies, burned as a smudge or smoked in a pipe.

Red Clover

Cynthia Myran, Xyólheméylh Elder says she used to eat Red Clover as a kid. It has a sweet taste and grows in fields where clover grass grows. It was later on she found out it is a powerful medicine that can be used for weight loss, cancer and heart disease prevention, arthritis, asthma, whooping cough, bone loss and psoriasis.  It also reduces symptoms of menopause.

Fire Weed

Fire Weed (pictured above) are the purple flowers that grow along highways and a medicine that is rarely talked about, says Cynthia Myran, Xyólheméylh Elder. It can be used as a salve or made into a tea. It is a strong pain reliever, helps fight cancer, arthritis and is a good medicine for men and the prostrate.

Seneca Root

Seneca Root is a common ingredient used in cough syrup. It is good for coughs, colds, asthma, loosening phlegm, and helps induce sweating.  Cynthia Myran, Xyólheméylh Elder warns that it is also a laxative and shouldn’t be drank too often.

- Teachings from Elder Cynthia Myran

When Clover Bayley was growing up in Jamaica she lived in a house full of children that weren’t her siblings. One of four siblings, her mother, who was a teacher, would take in kids who left their homes or were kicked out because they were unmanageable. Clover says there wasn’t really a child welfare program in Jamaica at the time, it’s just what people did for their community. “It was natural, it’s just something people did. People would help out where they could,” says Clover.

She eventually moved to Toronto in 1970, went back to Jamaica for a time in 1980, and has lived in BC since 1993. Clover grew up knowing that she wanted to have lots of children, but didn’t have a partner, so decided to become a foster parent and has been one since 2006.

In the 24 years of being a caregiver/support parent with Xyólheméylh, she has cared for numerous children and is still connected to most of them in some way or another. She has four adopted children – two Jamaican and two Canadian, and currently has six children in her care, ages three to 15. They are from three sibling groups.

“Nothing I have done has given me this much satisfaction,” says Clover. She believes that it is her job as a support parent to help facilitate family connections. “They won’t always be living with me,” says Clover. “You have to try and strengthen that bond.”

She also believes it’s important for the children to be exposed to their culture. “You need to know your heritage and culture,” says Clover, but she also wants to raise children to be citizens of the world.

Clover and other caregivers make a huge difference, offering safe and loving homes. We lift our hands to Clover and all the Xyólheméylh caregivers. If you are interested in becoming a caregiver we have info sessions the second Wednesday of the month at 6:30 pm and the third Tuesday of the month at noon. Contact Norma Commodore at: [email protected] to register.

Marcella is the third generation of her family to have grown up in government care. She met her birth giver, Natasha Sunshine, for the first time in 2022 and her great grandmother in 2023.

Fueled by this lived experience, Marcella is currently running a province wide cultural revitalization project called VYPER- Visionary Youth Peers for Equity & Revitalization, funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. She is also completing her BA at University of the Fraser Valley in Indigenous Peoples Knowledge and Political Science.

Marcella’s great grandmother watched all of her children get taken away during the ‘60s Scoop and wanted a different life for her kids. Being a board member is a commitment to Marcella because it captures her grandmother’s wish to see all Indigenous children free from cultural and familiar poverty.

“No matter how many skills programs, financial support, or other activities are in place, it doesn’t begin to match the healing and identity that comes from access to your culture and story. That story is what creates us, and when we know our story, through and through, we can begin to take lead of its narrative,” says Marcella. “I remember when I began truly being connected to the culture, it was a mix of having relevant cultural experiences and being accepted somewhere- where I belonged. That’s what my goal as a board member is for the youth and families we serve.”

The ability to braid two worlds together is very important to Marcella. “In one world we use western medicines, communication styles, the practice of social work, which is not rooted in Indigenous ways of being or doing- and in our other world it’s our traditional lives. It’s about always trying to lead by teachings and how they shape our interactions and work with people. It’s going to ceremony and healing in ways that are not just based on cognitive styles of practice. It’s spiritual, and I hope through my time with Xyólheméylh we can continue to reflect and influence this critical way of being into the work,” says Marcella.

She remembers listening to a podcast recently, (Indigenous Medicine Stories: Anishinaabe mshkiki nwii-dbaaddaan) where the speaker went on to describe how a lot of the systems we are involved in and the western style of therapy are in place to acknowledge, recognize and work through newer elements of harm that are affecting us and our families, such as Indigenous child welfare and problematic mental health. “We are learning how to navigate these day-by-day - we just need to ensure we do our part by keeping each other and ourselves accountable, honest and brave. I hope to continue to influence these thoughts into the board and with the people we work with. I also believe kindness goes a long way too.”

In Marcella’s spare time she does pow wow dancing (Fancy Shawl) and travels the pow wow trail. “Last year I spent every weekend for two and a half months in different Nations dancing, visiting and growing my family connections. That was one of the best summers,” says Marcella. She also enjoys making music on the guitar as well as electronic, sewing and creating regalia, and practicing Taekwondo. In 2019, she made a goal to spend one year learning a new skill. Next on the list is DJing.