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Xwelméxw: People of Life The Webs that Connect Us Guest: Dr. Keith Carlson In this far-ranging conversation, Dr. Keith Carlson and podcast host Á’a:líya Warbus discuss his long-time work as a historian for the Stó:lō people and some of the projects he’s been involved since first arriving in Chilliwack in 1992. Everything from interviewing Elders … Continue reading "S03EP05 Xwelméxw: People of Life"

Episode 4 – Xólhmet te mekw’stám ít kwelát: We have to take care of everything that belongs to us Guest: Maex̱’eyétel Jason Thompson, Leq’á:mel Many young people can’t wait to put distance between themselves and the place they grew up in. The answers are out there, rather than at home among the people we’ve known … Continue reading "S03EP04 Xólhmet te mekw’stám ít kwelát: We have to take care of everything that belongs to us"

Episode 3 – Never forget your roots – A Stó:lō police officer’s story Guest: Angie Kermer, Leq’á:mel Leq’á:mel’s Angie Kermer talks with host A’a:liya Warbus about her 30-year career as an RCMP officer, Indigenous policing in other jurisdictions, Stó:lō justice pre-contact and more. Kermer is Haida, Stó:lō, Squamish and Nooksack through her immediate family connections, … Continue reading "S03EP03 Never forget Your Kmémkwémlexw (roots) – A Leq’á:mel Police Officer’s Story"

Episode 2 – We are the People of the River: Post-Contact Fishing in Context  Guests:               Xwelíqweltel, Grand Chief Steven Point When the Europeans arrived in the 1800s, they considered the People of the River as the owners of the land and the fish in the river. The Stó:lō traded with those who first arrived … Continue reading "S03EP02 We are the People of the River"

Guests:            Satsan, Herb George, Hereditary Chief of the Frog Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation Xwelíqweltel, Grand Chief Steven Point “People take off their Indian Act hat and it’s quite dynamic and amazing to observe and be a part of. And then they put on their inherent right blanket, their robe of power. And then … Continue reading "S03 EP01 Robes of Power: Putting on Our Inherent Rights Blanket"

Guest:            Stacy McNeil, Executive Director of Sq’ewqéyl This is a clean slate. We’re starting over. Let’s see what we can do. Stacy McNeil was given these words of encouragement when she started her job as manager of Sq’ewqéyl, one of several small Stó:lō communities surrounded by the City of Chilliwack. She knew she could … Continue reading "S02E09 Lhlímèlhcha o eyálewet “We’ll do it ourselves”"

Guests:            Naxaxalhts’i Dr. Albert (Sonny) McHalsie When Stó:lō Elder Elizabeth Herrling told Sonny McHalsie that knowledge is only important when you share – that you could be the smartest person in the world and know everything, but if you don’t share it, it’s meaningless – it set him on a path to become the … Continue reading "S02E08 Ma:mt’ lam te mekw wat. “Share with everybody.”"

The Halq’eméylem language is spoken from Five Mile Creek near Yale to the mouth of the Fraser River. Christine Seymour of Sq’ewqéyl did not plan to become a language teacher when she went to university, but that’s how her career has worked out. With only one fluent speaker of the Upriver dialect left, we must … Continue reading "S02 E07 Tset hikwstexw te sqwelteltsetwe: Hold our language high"

How do youth stay on a good path when there is so much going on in the world and in their personal lives? In this episode, we talk to rising football star, Tyson George Kelly, and to the Stó:lō Xwexwílmexw youth coordinator Jen Archie about an important Stó:lō principle Thehítchexw ta’ sqwálewel “Keep your mind … Continue reading "S02 E06 Thehítchexw ta’ sqwálewel “Keep your mind on what you’re doing.”"

In the old way, the Elders give someone a name because they recognize the child’s ancestors or their spirit. But even though someone receives a name, they still have to earn it. In this episode, we talk to the members of one Ch’iyáqtel/Tzeachten family about their ancestral names and how they received them. Xaxa stexw … Continue reading "SO2E05: Xaxa stexw te selsila:lh te skwixw. Respect your ancestors’ name"

Stó:lō people have two important types of stories. Sxwōxwiyá:m — our creation stories, or stories of our distant past and Sqwélqwel or true news, which are stories passed down between generations. In this fourth episode of the season we explore storytelling and the oral tradition and why it is important to our people. We welcome … Continue reading "S02E04 This Is Who We Are. Storytelling and the Oral Tradition"

The ancient beliefs of Stó:lō people are layered throughout the land and language. This season, we will explore a set of Halq’eméylem principles that Naxaxalhts’i Sonny McHalsie has written down. Through his work recording oral history and language with Elders over the last several decades, he’s identified key phrases that have been repeated time and … Continue reading "SO2E03 Xólhmet te mekw’ stam s’i:wes te selsila:lh chet. “Take care of everything our great grandparents taught (showed) us.”"