A week with KTLP's member development participant

The first week of my Internship at K’en T’em was very busy and this 2^nd week has been the same. So far I have really enjoyed working with the Communication side, I was given the opportunity to introduce myself thorough a blog on our website and across our social media and I have been blown away with the positive feedback and excitement the communities have shown with me being in this role. 

I was invited to edit that week's Merritt Herald and meet the staff in that department as well as the opportunity to design a few posters, the one I enjoyed creating the most is our National Pet

Day Contest (April 11^th), that I am proud and excited to say was incredibly successful with over 180 comments and pictures of everyone’s pets from horses to bunnies and of course dogs and cats, the communication team is planning to use the pictures in a social media video to share as well as the draw which will be done live. I love all the photos that have been shared with us so far. 

April 9^th: I had the opportunity to volunteer to help with CNA’s Community Engagement Coordinator position for my Band (Cook’s Ferry) I delivered our newsletters that showcase the amazingly bright new colours our Print and Design Department is now able to use in our printing of reports, newsletters and posters as well as promotional items. I set off in the morning walking house to house and was able to connect with the community face to face to talk about events, upcoming training and suggestions that this community would like to see, from workshops to the prizes and food. It was a good day, and I made sure I had my big boots on for my walk as the rattle snakes are now out in Spences Bridge. Although I never saw one, I know they are there and awake again. Helping with the Community Engagement Coordinator position was a big eye opener on how important this role is to our communities is and how many people, especially our Elders, that are not on social media appreciate the visit with a copy of our newsletters and the posting of posters on the community bulletin boards.  

April 10^th:  I was honoured to be given the opportunity to attend and participate in the Opioid Crisis, Drug & Alcohol Health Fair Event hosted by Scw’exmx Community Health Services. The day started out with speakers that spoke from their hearts about their personal experiences on addiction issues. The main statement for the event was: “when we stand together, we are

stronger.” The inspiration for this event came from the words spoken by our Elders, saying there have been too many losses in our communities, either by drugs and/or suicide, too many Elders are now having to watch their grandkids, we are losing our youth and culture.  

On this day we came together to talk about solutions to solve this crisis to apply and share with family, community and within our work. The first speaker was from the Coldwater Band, and he touched on his experiences over his lifetime from Residential School and how his experience led to drug and alcohol issues between himself and classmates and how many have since

passed away. He shared a poem he wrote himself about Residential School as well as sharing a poem from a young lady while she was incarcerated. He also compared his Residential School to being in jail and how he is glad that his suicide attempts were not successful otherwise his children and grandchildren would not be here today. “Losing an addict while they are still alive is hard, you need to address your pain earlier. Youth should be taught the old ways.” 

The second speaker was also from the Coldwater reserve, and his story was similar in the fact he also attended residential school that lead to his drinking. His greatest accomplishment is his sobriety of 45 years, he said after 11 years in that “school” and most of his close relatives passing due to alcoholism. He went on to writing a book of poetry called Word Warrior. Here is one excerpt from one his poems called Hard Drinker: 

“Hard drinking man, straight whiskey, straight down to the tummy ain’t no blood in the veins, what a man, one month, one year, drinking straight to the grave.” 

This Elder was also previously invited to read his poem, “Monster” in Ottawa and was featured by CBC, APTN. This Elder gave those with addictions and/or family member/friends and are struggling now with hope that if he can go from being on the streets to sobriety it is possible for anyone to take the sobriety path, no one is too far gone to come back. 

The 3^rd speaker spoke directly to the table of youth sitting on the side and let them know that sugar is also an addiction, that is our first one we experience that has such negative impacts on ourselves and is also hard to quit. The youth that were there were asked to listen while they were there because our Elders won’t be here in the future, and many stories will be gone when they leave this earth, so pay attention now.  

The last 2 speakers after the Elders, were younger adult men who spoke of their childhood and how they started drinking and using and abuse they faced. How they became sober and learned to share their stories with others and start to heal. Bad influences of friends and family and the challenges of getting into a treatment/detox center and the terrifying effects of psychosis and the extreme anxiety that goes with that. Culture is what saved and redirected many of the speakers. 

Another point brought up by some of the female speakers was the personal and generational effects of the foster care system also had on our people just like Residential Schools it did the same thing it has and still does remove children from their language, culture and family connections. Many of our people also became addicts due to the foster care system.  

The last speaker spoke about his daughter’s passing and how it brought the family together but left a huge hole. Her father spoke of the struggles she had before her passing.  She was a highly talented young Nlaka’pamux Warrior Women who lost her way after a bad relationship where she was away from her family for an extended amount of time. She left behind a twin sister, her mother and father and our Pow wow family and so many nieces and nephews and brothers.  

The event concluded after dinner with Hand drumming and a Pow wow demonstration which I was glad I was able to support because I happened to still have my regalia and Hand drum in my vehicle, it was a long and painful at times day but I hold my hands up to the organizers who were able to put this event together in 2 weeks, a must needed event with how burnt out all of the front line workers have been, we needed to come together to talk about this topic. 

April 14^th: I was invited to join the K’en T’em team at the Civic Centre again, but this day was for a Career Fair hosted by CNA and K’en T’em with over 70 booths and over 300 community participants. It was a good day for everyone. With an amazing lunch provided by our own CNA catering staff that also do all our food preservation for future events and community members. The doors opened at 10 am and we were set up until 6pm that evening. I enjoyed the face-to-face interactions with community members and being able to answer questions about our services here at K’en T’em and my experience so far with this internship. 

April 15^th: This day was our K’en T’em Open House that has been and will be hosted in all our 8 communities. This day our team was in Nicomen, from 4pm to 7pm. The turnout of community members was great, and the food was so good, everyone was fed well. The door prizes all went over very well. CNA’s CEC, Holly Edwards was there to lead a craft which, judging by her full table of participants, was very popular. Awesome work Holly, Nicomen and Siska is blessed to have you as their CEC. 

All in all, in was a jam-packed eventful week and I enjoyed every minute of it and look forward to my final week of this training/work experience.  

Rosemarie Hill-Cooks Ferry Band Member/Community Development Intern with Printing, Design and Communications.