May 25, 2023
During the month of May, SIIA organized a meeting with members of the Sts’ailes Nation who are involved in implementing Snōwoyelh Te Émí:melh Te Sts’ailes, the Nation’s child and family services law. Although the legislation was enacted in February 2022, the Snōwoyelh Te Émí:melh program has been in existence since 2009. More information about the Program can be found here.
“Snowoyelh” means the natural law the creator provided for us – the law of
Te Emi:melh te Sts’ailes Law (https://www.stsailes.com/te-emimelh-te-stsailes)
everything, including the law of life and the law of the land. Snowoyelh is meant
for all people to live in harmony and is the very foundation and mainstream of our
knowledge, culture and family and community values;
Sts’ailes intends to enter into a Tripartite Coordination Agreement with Canada and British Columbia in order to assert full jurisdiction over child and family services. As SIIA is undergoing a similar process, we believe that there are important opportunities for collaboration and knowledge-sharing between SIIA and the Sts’ailes Nation.
After an exciting journey across the Salish Sea, four SIIA representatives (Chuck, April, Erica, and Paula) arrived at the Snōwoyelh House, located in the picturesque Fraser Valley along the Harrison River, and were welcomed by members of the Sts’ailes First Nation. Men from the community welcomed us with drum song about doing things in a good way and having uy’sqwalawun (“good feelings”) before going into the meeting. We were then given a tour of the Snōwoyehl House, an old camp facility that has been transformed into an office space and resource for delivering child and family services to both Sts’ailes members, and children and families from surrounding Nations.
During our meeting with elder Pat Charlie and other Sts’ailes staff, we learned about the history of the Sts’ailes Nation, as well as the structures of governance and accountability that are embedded within Sts’ailes law. We heard about the good work that is being done through the Snōwoyelh Program, including the services being provided at Ta Lalem, a specialized residential resource for keeping families together and teaching parents how to safely and culturally care for their children. We also had the opportunity to observe some of the Nations’ cultural training curriculum, which is used to teach elders, support workers, and parents who they are and where they come from, as well as cultural protocols related to specific ceremonies and legal processes.
The meeting with Sts’ailes staff produced a rich and fruitful conversation which we believe is just the beginning of an important reciprocal relationship. We hope that this relationship will continue to grow and that SIIA will have the opportunity to host representatives from the Sts’ailes Nation within Coast Salish territory in the near future.
SIIA would like to raise our hands in gratitude to the Sts’ailes nation for hosting and allowing us to witness and learn from the good work happening on their territory.
