10th ceremony recognizing Indigenous stewardship of lands
On February 25th people from the Victoria office gathered for an Honouring People and Place Ceremony, welcomed by and standing alongside members of the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. Together, we unveiled remarkable artwork for the office and marked this moment as part of our ongoing commitment to honour the lands, peoples, and relationships that guide our work at CLBC.
Patrice Cormier, CLBC SDM south VI, Neil Belanger, ED, BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, Paisley Pelletier, Senior Disability Case Manager BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, Mayor Sid Tobias of View Royal, Mary Czernick, CLBC IR, Charlene Barney, St’at’imc Nation, Self-advocate/IAC, Brian Tebo, CLBC Regional Director VI, Chief Jerome Thomas, Esquimalt First Nation, Diane Sam, Elder Songhees First Nation.
This ceremony aligns with our ongoing commitment to reconciliation. One of our organizational goals is to strengthen relationships with Indigenous partners by walking alongside them to coordinate the delivery of services for Indigenous families in their communities. This starts with recognizing the stewardship of the land upon which CLBC offices reside.
Esquimalt Chief Thomas opened the day with a Welcoming, followed by Songhees Elder Diane Sam with a grounding ceremony. View Royal Mayor Sid Tobias then spoke about ongoing work and collaboration in the region, setting the stage for a shared celebration with the Songhees dancers and the Victoria staff team. The celebration was acknowledged amongst colleagues, Indigenous Advisory Committee members and CLBC leadership.
Songhees Dancers
This gathering was an opportunity to reflect together on the meaning of place, accountability, identity, and a shared future of working together to provide culturally safe services for eligible Indigenous individuals. It was also an opportunity to reflect on our responsibility as visitors to the territories we work and live on.
The artwork was created by Esquimalt artist Darlene Gait whose art can be seen around Vancouver Island. Watch this video to hear Darlene talk about the significance of the West Coast Salish art piece to the Nation.
Art created by Esquimalt artist, Darlene Gait
This marks the tenth Honouring People and Place ceremony held at CLBC offices across the province as part of our ongoing work to build and deepen meaningful relationships with Nations. The initiative’s name was recently changed from Built Space to Honouring People and Place to more clearly reflect our shared intentions and to centre the people, Nations, and lands to which each office is connected.
To date, ceremonies have taken place in nine other communities: Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna, Penticton, Prince George, Smithers, Terrace, Vernon, and Langley.