Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society was awarded a 2018 Ted Rogers Community Grant of $15,000 to support youth mentorship in life skills and cultural programs for youth in grades 7-12 in the Langley area. These programs ensure every youth who needs life skills and cultural mentorship, has the opportunity to receive this needed mentorship.

As we leave the winter behind for another year and happily welcome the spring, we also leave the traditionally most spiritual time of year for the Stó:lō people. For thousands of years in the Fraser Valley, the spring, summer, and fall months were about harvesting berries, hunting, fishing, making clothing and building longhouses. These warmer months reflected the physical, mental and emotional aspects of life – three of the four elements necessary to be a healthy human being. During this time there was little time for spirituality because they were spent preparing for the long, cold winter months.

“The Stó:lō new year began the third week of October and marked the beginning of the cycle of rebuilding spiritual strength - the fourth element necessary for a healthy human being,” says Herb Joe, Stó:lō Elder and Cultural Mentor. The winter months marked a period of spiritual renewal and rebirth and was the time of year for ceremonies in longhouses and smokehouses, not just for the Stó:lō but for all Indigenous peoples living in the Coast Salish communities. The winter months were crucial for making one healthy and whole.

Those traditions were lost because of the impacts of colonization, residential schools, the ‘60s scoop and the anti-potlatch laws that were instituted by the government. Those traditions and ceremonies, including memorial services for loved ones who had passed on, were outlawed. It wasn’t until the late 1960s that four Elders began the revitalization of the smokehouse tradition and the winter dancing ceremonies.

The smokehouse traditions were most active during the winter months. In fact, says Herb, “People would live in the smokehouse for extended periods, using those months to reconnect with one’s internal spirit, exercising it like a muscle.” The word “Siy:owen” is Halquemeylem for the ceremony where people would receive an individual song. Each individual had their own song, and that’s how they exercised their spirit. The winter months were used to bring people together to strengthen their spiritual side.

Colonization and the anti-potlach laws also impacted how the Stó:lō grieved loved ones because there was to be no ceremonies. The traditional way to grieve was to hold a memorial ceremony, “when you were ready to stop crying,” says Herb.

People who did practice were arrested and there was a fear of the police and the churches. These winter practices and the memorial ceremonies were dormant for three to four generations. “The memorial ceremonies were not about the person who had passed on, they were about us who are left behind. It was to inform the families it’s time for you to stop crying now,” says Herb.

The interruption in those ceremonies for generations was that “they continued to cry and to grieve,” says Herb. Herb recounts how in the mid ‘70s, once the anti-potlach laws were repealed how the communities started doing memorials retroactively. “There was a huge tidal wave of these ceremonies,” says Herb.

Another resurgence happened with naming ceremonies and is also now part of today’s winter season ceremonies and increasingly occurring throughout the year. Herb recounted how he received his ancestral name T’xwelatse and how he is preparing his grandson to receive the same name.

“It took years for people to get comfortable doing ceremonies again,” says Herb. “The smokehouse traditions were considered the work of the devil, people feared the smokehouse and the drumming and singing. Since the resurgence, it has grown and now thousands of us practice this way of life, it’s become an integral part of life for Stó:lō families … It speaks of people rediscovering their spirituality.”