Have We Got a Story to Tell—Stories from This Land and its People

Our popular storytelling series continues, presenting stories about this land we live on told in its own indigenous languages. Tales passed down through thousands of years, current stories and open-hearted sharing from local indigenous storytellers of all ages.

The stories will be told in their original languages such as: lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ (the language of the land of Greater Victoria), SENĆOŦEN (from the peninsula), Hul’q’umi’num’ (Cowichan area and some Gulf Islands) and more. Həlítxʷ cə lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ means ‘bringing lək̓ʷəŋin̓əŋ language back to life’ and that’s what we hope to contribute a small piece to with this event. 

Storytellers include:

Sarah Modeste is a fluent Hul’q’umi’num’ language speaker, educator, and traditionally trained sul’hween. Sarah was also an extremely successful entrepreneur. With her 300 employees, she helped make the Cowichan sweater world famous. Now she dedicates her time to sharing her language and teachings with those interested in learning­.

Tiffany Joseph is from the Saanich (Saltwater) and Squamish (Freshwater) peoples. Tiffany is currently working with a great group of educators in establishing a Language Nest pilot project called the Tsawout SENĆOŦEN,ÁUTW̱ which will be working with infants and toddlers under the age of 5. 

MENEŦIYE is from the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation on Southern Vancouver Island. She is a grade two SENĆOŦEN immersion teacher, working on revitalizing the SENĆOŦEN language within her community. She has always had a high respect and interest in the W̱SÁNEĆ creation stories, and will be glad to share some during this event. 

Musicians include:

Wesley Hardisty is one to watch. 24 years of age, he took up the fiddle 10 years ago as a Dene youth in his home town of Fort Simpson, NWT. Now living on Salt Spring Island, BC, he pursues music with great passion. His music has taken him all over Canada, performing Festivals, radio shows, TV programs, and music camps.