Dialogues for Promoting Indigenous Spirituality and Culture
Everything is Interconnected
For generations, Indigenous children have been forcibly separated from their communities through policies whose entire purpose was dedicated to erasing Indigenous cultural identity.
Today, Indigenous children in British Columbia make up 60% of those placed in foster homes through the child welfare system, leaving them displaced from their families, communities and culture.
Nuu-chah-nulth are one such group whose communities are now striving to return children to their traditional roots. This will help ensure children know who they are, where they belong, and that they remain connected to the strength, teachings, and responsibilities of their Nations despite living in foster care. The Čamapiłʔaqƛniš Children and Youth Honouring Feast is being held to honour these children and show that they are still deeply valued and loved members of their communities. Elders and representatives from all ten Nuu-chah-nulth Nations will come together in this cultural gathering centred on belonging, identity, and community. Through the Honouring Feast, children will reconnect with their cultural roots, strengthen relationships with their home Nations, and receive traditional names that affirm their identity and place within their communities.
The Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF) is contributing funding to support this initiative grounded in traditional Nuu-chah-nulth teachings. The feast builds on the ongoing work of Čamapiłʔaqƛniš, which partners with Kw’umut Lelum Child and Family Services to provide weekly Nuu-chah-nulth language classes with Elders and quarterly cultural gatherings to help children in care remain connected. This feast will be part of ending the cycle of disconnection while fostering healing and belonging.
Diocese of Victoria– Vancouver Island Region
