Latest news with #WLFN
CBC
2 days ago
- General
- CBC
Williams Lake First Nation searching for owner of jingle dress found in abandoned storage locker
Social Sharing The Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) is trying to reunite a jingle dress with its owner, after it turned up in a local thrift store. Brandon Hoffman, the manager of marketing and communications with WLFN, said the dress, along with a blanket, were turned in to WLFN Kukwpi7 (Chief) Willie Sellars by the thrift store owner earlier this year. The shopkeeper had come into possession of the items after he purchased an abandoned storage locker, where he discovered the items in a suitcase. Sellars said the shop owner gifted the items to him, in hopes they could find the rightful owner. "He found the regalia and knew it was something that has a story, now we're a part of the story," Sellars said. Fortunately, the hand-off happened before the thrift shop burned down in March. "It was a pretty great shop. I'm a bit of a thrift store hound myself, so I was there all the time," Hoffman told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. Sellars brought the items to WLFN councillor Dancing Water Sandy, who makes regalia, Hoffman said. "She cleaned them all up as best as she could and gave them a smudging and a blessing to hope that they go off into the world and find their rightful owners." The jingle dress is a dark green colour with silver, white and yellow accents, a white fringe and, of course, bells attached, most of which are on the skirt. A large raven adorns the blanket, in black and white, with mother of pearl buttons sewn all around it. Following the smudging, Hoffman's team took photos of the dress, blanket and suitcase and posted them to social media. Soon after, they located the owner of the blanket: Nadine Brown of Bella Bella. "The blanket was gifted to me about 15 years ago," she said. "The design on the blanket was made specifically for me. It's a one-of-a-kind blanket." Brown lost the blanket about seven years ago when she loaned it to a friend who was going to make another one. When they lost contact, she thought her blanket was gone forever. But the owner of the dress remains a mystery, as Hoffman and the nation continue their search. "We've got some potential leads, but no solid hits yet," Hoffman said.
CBC
28-02-2025
- General
- CBC
Williams Lake First Nation calls on feds to support revitalization of former residential school site
The Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) is asking for an investment from the federal government to help revitalize St. Joseph's Mission, a former residential school site near Williams Lake, B.C., that the nation purchased in 2023. WLFN started investigating deaths and disappearances at the residential school shortly after the Tk'emlúps te Secwepemc First Nation shared preliminary findings from a 2021 ground-penetrating radar survey that indicated the presence of 215 potential unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. WLFN purchased the St. Joseph's Mission site from a private owner for $1.2 million, with help from the province. WLFN Kúkwpi7 (Chief) Willie Sellars said last year that while the future of the site is uncertain, he hoped it would be a "place of healing." "It needs to be a place of closure, of gathering in a good way, of honouring our ancestors and survivors," Sellars said in 2024. "People want to go to the site, and people want to honour ancestors and honour the survivors, but right now, it's a crime scene. We can't gather there." St. Joseph's Mission site should be 'place of healing': WLFN The First Nation is looking for funds to get it to that place. "We can't leave the site like this," said project lead Whitney Spearing. "It's a cold, desolate place, and it's impossible for people to gather safely." WLFN submitted a proposal to the Canadian government in December, but says it has not heard anything back. "How can the people of Canada learn more about the legacy of the residential school system if they're not able to visit these places?" Sellars said. "I'm calling on the Government of Canada to step up and make an actual investment in a place of healing at the site of the former St. Joseph's Mission." The federal government has given millions of dollars to First Nations across the country to help with site searches, research and memorials, including more than $8.6 million to WLFN alone. CBC News requested comment from the Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations, but did not receive a response in time for publication. Sugarcane up for best doc at Oscars The call comes as Sellars heads to Los Angeles for the Academy Awards, where the film Sugarcane, which explores the history of St. Joseph's Mission, is nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Sellars said this marks an important moment in Canada's journey toward reconciliation. "The amount of messages and the amount of support we've seen from not just the Indigenous communities across this country, but from the non-Indigenous people in this country has been pretty staggering and something that makes you proud of this reconciliation movement that we're seeing in our territories and in this country." Sugarcane has been screened at a number of festivals, including Sundance, where it won a directing award, and at the White House in December. It began streaming on Disney+ last year. Should the film, directed by Julian Brace NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, win on Sunday night, Sellars said he will join the filmmakers on stage. While he's excited to be taking in the spectacle, he wants the message of the film to remain in the spotlight. "At the end of the day, it really is about helping tell the story of those survivors who are really the most courageous people that I have ever met in my entire life."
