The Story Of This Project

Our goal has long been to bring the belongings from Qithyil together in one place, both to learn from and to share our story. One of our Elders, Clifford Hall, notes that Xwelítem (European settlers) have not always respected Sq’éwlets history. This is why it is so important to give our own view of our own history. We want to connect our youth with their history in a real way. Our previous Chief, Andy Phillips, says how important it is to have “our traditional teachings, customs, and practices taught within the home, rather than from outside.”

We began making this website in 2010. We used an online research site called the Reciprocal Research Network (rrncommunity.org) to assemble photographs of the Qithyil belongings and to create the exhibit presented in the Belongings section. In time, our vision expanded to be about much more than our Qithyil belongings. It came to be about us as Sq’éwlets people today. We shot video of our Elders talking about Sq’éwlets history and our youth doing cultural activities that excite them, such as traditional dancing and paddling. These videos are in the Our Voices section. We present knowledge of our families, our leaders, our relations, and our experiences. We wrote this text thinking of what our youth, other Stó:lō communities, our non-Stó:lō neighbours, and others would like to know about us as a thriving community today. We are proud of what we have created.