RRN Meeting Retreat 2009 : Chilliwack

Well, I think I can speak for almost everyone when I say that I am absolutely exhausted. And yes, this blog entry is a little late because of that. But this past Monday and Tuesday the entire RRN team (now upwards of 20 people) made our way out to Chilliwack to have a yearly meeting. Dave Schaepe, one of our steering group members for Stó:lō Nation and Tribal Council, hosted our visit with lots of food and fun - and an occasional walk through some prickle bushes.

The meeting kicked off on Monday morning with a fabulous Place Names Tour from Sonny McHalsie. He took the whole busload of us up the Fraser River Canyon, from Chilliwack to Hope to Yale. Now, I drive up past Chilliwack a lot. I drive up the Fraser River a lot - I love going to the interior to swim in lakes, and Hick's lake near Harrison happens to be my favorite summer time swimming hole. And I always admire the landscape when I drive up there. But I have never been so enlightened and awe struck as I was on that tour.I think everyone would agree – but it gave me a whole world of stories, knowledge, history and a new fascination with the landscape.

Sonny has such a wealth of knowledge, and the experience was unforgettable. My favorite part, and I think the highlight, was the last stop of the trip in Yale.

We sat atop a hill on the side of a huge cliff face, overlooking the Fraser River and listened to more stories of transformation, fishing, and of course, the coastal raiders. It was the best way I could think of to start of a meeting about the RRN.

After the day in the bus we made our way to a lovely campsite for a great salmon dinner from Big Al's Catering. Dinner was followed by a performance by a group of young dancers organized by one of our liaisons, Darwin Douglas. After the dancing, we played a game of Slahal. I am not good at this game. I think I guessed right once, but it was still a blast.

The next day we all had one big meeting, reviewing different summer plans and getting all the community liaisons together. During our meeting we got into a conversation about the importance of explaining why the RRN was different that other search engines and museum databases out there.

Someone pointed out that this conversation was irrelevant - because of course there is nothing like the RRN. Communities just don't have access to collections in a meaningful way, and they want that. We all know this, but sometimes we forget under a fog of work, conferences and meetings. I think we all took a step back and again realized the importance of what we're trying to do.

When I walked in to my job interview over a year ago - I met with Ulrike Radermacher and Sue Rowley - then to become my future bosses. They introduced me to the project, asked questions about my interests etcetera. Then, I was taken into a tiny archaeology library at UBC and introduced to the two software developers I would be working with over the next summer. Then there were 5, including myself.

Now, fast forward a year. This week I found myself in a boardroom at Stó:lō Nation in Chilliwack sitting around the table with over 22 people working for or with the RRN. I couldn't believe it - here we are closing in on the launch date and we've pretty much assembled a task force of people to do so. It's absolutely crazy and absolutely wonderful. Visiting Stó:lō was amazing, I not only gained a better understanding of Stó:lō people and their history, but of the peerless contributions the RRN can make to communities and museums in the future.

For now – Dinner time. Stay tuned for more updates all this week though – there’s been a lot going on!

-Hannah