Project Name
Sk’emel Iya’7yulh: The Paddle Journey
Team Members
Lynne Tomlinson, Peyvand Fralick
Unit
Professional Development and Community Engagement (PDCE)
Project Summary
Sk’emel Iya’7yulh (The Paddle Journey) is an interactive educational workshop that teaches the history of Coast Salish People through Elder storytelling and role play.
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw Elder Yeltsilewet (Faye Halls), daughter of the Late Chief Simon Baker (Khot-la-cha), led Faculty of Education staff on a hands-on journey through history from an Indigenous perspective.
The October 2022 workshop proffered a new understanding of what life was like for Squamish Nation people in the past to present day, covering topics that included Indigenous ways of being and knowing; loss of Indigenous skills, gifts, language, children, culture and life; resilience (i.e., the strength to re-learn and re-teach); natural gifts and talents of individuals; and planting seeds for positive action moving forward.
