Indigenous view on resilience

On Thursday June 1 the entire school community was invited to assemble to witness the work that the division 5 & 6 created over the past few months, this included puppet creations, mapping ideas of how the school can be prepared for emergencies and a hazard guessing game. An Indigenous perspective on the topic of resilience was desired and Alec Dan of Musqueam Nation spoke about his home Territory and gave a traditional welcome. The Good Medicine Songs Singers also came to the school to share songs and stories which were created upriver, in Sto:lo Territory.

Two students Cass and Navin were MC’s for two assemblies as the entire school could not fit into the gym at once; below is their script.

C: Welcome Ferris Falcons, I am Cass and this is Navin (N: Hi) and we are your MCs for today. We are part of the Ferris Resilience classes who over the past few months have been learning many things about being prepared for emergencies, understanding the land that we live on and this place we share with the plants and animals.  

N: We would like to acknowledge Ferris Elementary is on the home of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples of the Musqueam Nation.

C: Today we will have the opportunity to hear some Indigenous Songs and Stories.

We are also going to share with you examples of puppet shows created by Division 5 & 6 that we worked hard on with JPeachy – our Community Artist.

 N: For many years prior to new people coming to what we know as Richmond the Indigenous people have a deep connection and relationship with the land.  

C: Their songs and stories have helped them since time immemorial, That means “a point of time in the past that was so long ago that people have no knowledge or memory of it.”

N: These stories helped them in their resilience, their healing and their connections with each other.  

C: We recognize that Indigenous people are and continue to be very resilient and we have much to learn from them.

N: We are grateful to have Alec Dan of the Musqueam Nation welcome us to the territory and the Good Medicine Songs team which was created by Sto:lo Elders to share with the school community at Ferris Elementary. 

C: The team has created four bilingual songs in Halq’eméylem and English that incorporate drumming and eco-rock musical elements: 

N: The people of the Sto:lo Territory and the Musqueam territory are connected by the water and by the salmon that fed them.  

C: We would also like to present a small gift to all our presenters from our Ferris Resilience classroom : This gift includes information on how you and your families can prepare for emergencies and a small plug of ceremonial tobacco.

N: And now we present, (N) Alec Dan and the (C) the Good Medicine Songs team.