Creating a connection with land and language is helping restore pride and dignity to First Nations youth, and creating economic opportunities for the local community. Partnerships with Sea to Cedar and MakeWay are facilitating the fast growth of this important project.
K’odi Nelson grew up surrounded by the language and customs of his ancestors. “I believe that’s where my strength comes from today,” K’odi says, “I grew up proud of who I was, and I was nourished by my grandparents and our culture.”
K’odi knows that many First Nations young people do not grow up with that support, and instead are still dealing with the waves of intergenerational trauma that have led to broken families, and young people not having pride in who they are and where they come from. “We need to restore pride and dignity in our children,” K’odi says, “Restore their spirit, and help them grow up with confidence.” K’odi believes that healing for First Nations youth begins with the resurrection of their language, and pride in their cultural heritage.
“We truly believe that this is going to be the flagship reconciliation project that Canada can point to and say, “Look what we did. Look what the philanthropic sector in Canada can do,” K’odi says.
That is what is happening right now on a secluded estuary in the heart of Kwikwasut’inuxw Haxwa’mis Territory, in what is more commonly known as the Great Bear Rainforest on the Southern Central Coast of British Columbia. K’odi is spearheading the Nawalakw Culture Project, a healing centre focused on immersing youth in their native Kwak’wala language and the culture and traditions of their ancestors. The Nawalakw Culture Project has huge and inspiring goals: K’odi sees the project growing in three phases that will include eco-tourism, and grow jobs in the community. Phase one is already underway; the Nawalakw Healing Center is set to be completed in October, serving as a health and language revitalization centre that can house up to 24 students, their teachers, and up to 12 support staff. Phase two will be the construction of an ecotourism resort that will bring financial support for the programming, and phase three will be an interpretive centre / retail space / gallery showcasing local artists, and housing for those doing land stewardship programs at Nawalakw.
Planting the seeds
As an elementary school teacher, K’odi was well-aware that something fundamental had been taken away from the First Nations children that he worked with. “For 150 years the government has taken away our identity, who we are and where we come from,” K’odi says,“We could teach our kids math, science, English, social studies, all that stuff, but it’s not going to matter if the kids still feel bad about who they are and where they come from.” K’odi knew that the 1.5-2 hours a week he had to teach the children their language was not enough to make a difference.
In the summer months, K’odi worked as a wilderness guide with SeaWolf Adventures, a First Nations owned and operated ecotourism company. He was still teaching, except during these months he was teaching tourists, predominantly from Europe, about his history and wildlife. They often asked whether there was a lodge where they could stay to extend their trip, but there was nothing out there. This put a seed in K’odi’s mind. Then, on one trip he encountered a heli-logging operation in his Nations’ sacred territory. His thoughts immediately turned to how to educate and (re)connect his people about their traditional sacred sites, and how this could result in greater protection of these places for future generations. It was then he thought some sort of cabin or lodge along the shoreline could serve this purpose.
These things ran through K’odi’s mind while he was still a teacher in Port Hardy, and in 2012 he organized for the graduating grade seven class to spend five days in their traditional territories. “The idea was to bring elders and do language immersion, have a camp out and a good time while at the same time trying to plant seeds in their brain about stewardship on their territory,” K’odi explains, “In that five days they retained more of our language than they had in two months of classroom lessons. “The trips continued, and K’odi realized that the teaching of his language in schools was just not enough. “We’ve attempted to help save the language but we haven’t had much success in producing fluent language speakers,” says K’odi. “Being out on those trips taught me that if the kids are retaining this in five days, we should rethink our approach to language revitalization.” If he was to build a lodge in his traditional territory, perhaps it could serve as an ecotourism destination in the summer, then in the off-season it could be used for cultural and language revitalization. “We could get our kids out into our lands and territories, teaching traditional food harvesting, medicines, and start to bring back some of that stuff that makes our people strong,” K’odi says.
A chance meeting with Scott Rogers, program director at Sea to Cedar, came about when she brought a group of First Nations youth and community on a trip to visit a local salmon river in their traditional territory, and K’odi happened to be captaining the boat charter. He told her about his vision, and when an opportunity arose for funding of First Nations projects in the area, Rogers encouraged K’odi to come meet with a group of thought leaders and potential funders at the Nimmo Bay Resort.
Using some federal funding, K’odi had already laid out basic plans and done a feasibility study for the Nawalakw Healing Centre. He was set to meet with four groups that day, but after his first presentation a representative from a philanthropic family approached him and offered $2.5 million, a large portion of the funds needed to build phase one, the healing center. From that point, Nawalakw was up and running.
The project has since secured an additional $1.3 million from individual donors, foundations, and other sources to go towards capital and ongoing operations.
Growth and partnerships
Forming a partnership with Sea to Cedar has been vital in helping K’odi’s vision come to life. “Sea to Cedar creates powerful opportunities for people to connect in the landscape of the South Central Coast Region, and this project is a good example of that,” explains Rogers, who has helped connect Nawalakw not only with major funders but also in forging a collaboration with the incredibly supportive Nimmo Bay Resort who helps provide training and logistical support.
“Without Sea to Cedar we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are now,” K’odi says, “And we didn’t have the capabilities to manage any funds coming in because we weren’t a registered charity, so that’s when Scott suggested that we look into MakeWay as an option.”
Both Nawalakw and Sea to Cedar are part of the MakeWay shared platform. It gives K’odi access to a huge toolkit of resources that are able to help Nawalakw grow. This means that K’odi can concentrate his expertise on the more physical and cultural aspects of the project – including connecting with local clean energy groups who are offering solar power hookups for the lodge project. Nawalakw is prioritizing clean energy in all phases of the project – while MakeWay can look after areas such as contracts and human resources. “MakeWay is able to hold space for the complexity of this project,” explains Rogers.
K’odi is thrilled with how these collaborations have helped with making his vision real. “We truly believe that this is going to be the flagship reconciliation project that Canada can point to and say, “Look what we did. Look what the philanthropic sector in Canada can do,” he says. Funders have gravitated towards Nawalakw, K’odi believes, because it checks off so many boxes. “We’re creating a social venture that brings jobs to our community, creates a presence in our traditional territory, funds healing and language revitalization programs, and creates pride in our children, and our children yet unborn,” he says, “That’s so well rounded for one project, and we believe that this business model will be replicated by other indigenous communities anywhere else in the world.”
