What National Indigenous Peoples Day means to Interior Health

It’s summer solstice and it’s the longest day of the year, but what it means to us is a reflection of who we are. We’re people from the land, we have connection to the water and animals, our ancestors, our history to this particular territory and it all means something to us.

To me – I practice who I am every day. I’m a proud Nisga’a woman. I come from a community where the culture is practiced literally daily; we hold as many of our traditions as possible. So I can relate to National Indigenous Persons Day in a way that I hope they can start to open up about their nuances, their biases, maybe their misunderstanding or their lack of understanding about Indigenous People.

I would hope that people across Canada, all Indigenous People, feel the pride in who they are on a daily basis. It’s so important for us to celebrate who we are and celebrate how far we’ve come and recognize that many of our communities are still remote and isolated (and I’m talking outside Interior Health and inside Interior Health as well) so we can recognize who we are and practice our cultures and our languages without fear of recrimination from an outside institution so it’s safe for all of us.

In terms of raising awareness around Indigenous Peoples across Canada I just hope people can recognize that while we’re all Indigenous we’re still very different. For example, in the Interior Health Authority we have seven Nations who are very distinct and we have the Métis Nation who have chosen to make their home in the Interior Health Authority. Those people and those languages are all very different, and if one person could become more aware on National Indigenous Peoples Day that would make me very happy.

For our family, we’ve always been taught that National Indigenous Peoples Day is every day. It’s not just once a year - it’s every day and every moment of our lives.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is sharing, acknowledging who we are as Indigenous Peoples and sharing where we come from. It’s sharing our histories, our cultures, our traditions through stories. It’s sharing our stories that are experiences as Indigenous Peoples in this world, Mother Earth. Sharing our stories through song, through dance, through our drums. It’s showing who we are as Indigenous Peoples.

In the following video, Chief Willie Sellars talks about how IH is continually strengthening relations with Aboriginal People.