From Where the River Grass Grows

The date draws closer, our launch, one part of the journey and another starts.  I would like to congratulate everyone on their hard work on making this project a success.  The recent weeks and upcoming weeks were and will be a very interesting time.

From Musqueam, recently the Olympics came through, we had a handful of torch bearers come through the reserve, had a ceremonial lighting of a cauldron outside the band office, and had visiting Inuit throat singers, two pole raisings and our hand in the Aboriginal pavilion which will soon be transported to Musqueam. 

In Musqueam, June and I have been doing a lot of online work as well contacting Musqueam band members.  June had created several different projects where people have joined and hopefully utilize her work.  Myself, I created the culturally sensitive items from B.C. which has had some discussion. 

The grand opening was also an amazing experience as well as informative.  Considering we had 3 kiosks running, there was an interest shown by the museum crowd.  When we go live, it will be great to see more use and more contributions by the RRN users.

A few weeks ago I had to opportunity to attend the Residential School Conference in Leqamel First Nation with Wendy Ritchie.  Here I made contact with George Pennier who wanted to speak about his three masks in the Cambridge collection.  You can find one audio file where George spoke with Herb Jr on the RRN already. 

We had the chance to briefly spoke Ramsey Louis and will upload that audio file to the RRN.  Hopefully we plan to speak to more of the artists from Musqueam, one being Susan Point.

With our journey together nearing its end, I would like to thank everyone for their hard work.  For old friends and new, best of wishes and continued success in all of your future endeavours. 

Jody, Community Liaison Researcher, Musqueam

Update From Sto:lo

As we draw closer to our official launch date, feelings of  joy and excitement are abundant here in Sto:lo territory. It has been a real honour to be part of something historical in the making and definitely something we will never forget. As a team, we have been quite busy doing our part trying to make this website the best it can be.

Wendy attended the Residential School Conference in Leqamel First Nation as a representative of our RRN team. She was honoured to share in the elder’s healing and equally honoured to assisted in a cleansing ceremony at the conference. It was a rewarding experience and one she will never forget.

Although Frank and Herb Jr were unable to attend, Wendy was present at UBC to attend the Grand Reopening of the Museum Of Anthropology and the Aboriginal West Coast display and represent our team here in Sto:lo territory. Several dance groups were in attendance as well as approximately 9,500 visitors in the 2 day Grand Reopening.

Herb Jr and Wendy have been busy conducting interviews with Rena Bolton-Point, Laura Wee Lay Luck and George Pennier. These interviews were recorded digitally  and were then uploaded onto the RRN website. We are also trying to set up as many RRN presentations as we can squeeze in between now and our official launch date.

We here in Sto:lo territory would like to thank everyone involved with the Reciprocal Research Network for an unforgettable experience and look forward to the enormous success of the beautiful work we have created as a team.