Elder's basket inspires artwork for Cariboo Memorial Hospital

A traditional woven basket, handcrafted by Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) Elder Sally Wynja, will help shape the look and feel of the new Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) Redevelopment.

Elder Wynja’s basket will be featured in an image which will be wrapped on the Indigenous Patient Navigator office entrance within the CMH Redevelopment. Additionally, the basket itself will be showcased in the adjacent cultural corridor.

Elder Wynja attended a CMH Redevelopment engagement session at WLFN this spring where she and others learned how Indigenous voices and artwork are influencing the project's design.

She said the fact that her handmade pine needle basket will be showcased in new hospital is both surprising and deeply meaningful.

"I didn't believe it," Elder Wynja said of when she was contacted by Interior Health (IH) to work with her on the project. "I didn't think my work was that good, you know?"

For more than 20 years, Elder Wynja has been creating traditional baskets and pine needle art. Entirely self-taught, she began learning basket weaving after feeling drawn to the craft and wanting to reconnect with her culture.

"I wanted to do my own cultural stuff, so I just learned on my own," she said.

Over the years, basket weaving has become much more than an art form. It has strengthened her connection to the land, culture and community.

"I love the forest," she said. "I love to listen to the wind in the trees and the birds. Now I'm into native medicines and healing."

Elder Wynja also shares her knowledge with others, leading workshops in basket weaving and pine needle art and teaching cultural crafts to local students.

Her artwork is one example of how Indigenous voices, knowledge and culture are being woven into the CMH Redevelopment Project. During recent engagement sessions across the Cariboo, IH returned to communities to share how feedback gathered throughout the planning process has influenced the design of the new hospital. Community members saw how their ideas are being reflected through Indigenous artwork, language, cultural spaces, ceremony, family gathering areas and other features that will help create a more welcoming and culturally safe environment.

Learn more about the Cariboo Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Project

For Elder Wynja, seeing her work become part of that vision was an emotional moment.

She also hopes her artwork tells a story of healing, resilience and hope.

"I want people to know that I recovered, and I'm doing well," she said. "My family's doing well. They're hard-working people. We don't drink anymore, and we don't do drugs. We're a family that gets together and enjoys ourselves without alcohol."

As the CMH Redevelopment Project continues, partnerships with Indigenous communities remain central to the project's success. Through ongoing engagement, IH is working alongside Nations to ensure the new hospital reflects the cultures, histories and voices of the communities it serves.

For Elder Wynja, knowing her basket will become part of that shared future is a reminder that culture belongs in places of healing.

"It's something I'm proud of," she said.

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