The Skwl膩x te Secwepemc煤l虛ecw Welcome Home ceremony not only celebrated the new housing being built, but also bringing life back to the community as band members came together.
On Wednesday, April 24, just eight months after the Bush Creek East wildfire destroyed their homes, the band revealed the new Dancing Fawn II subdivision, the first of four that will be built with Rapid Housing to bring people home.
鈥淭his is a very special day for our band members鈥� this is the start of a great rebuild for our entire band, both physically and mentally,鈥� said Kukpi7 (Chief) James Tomma. 鈥淚鈥漨 very proud of our community, they鈥檙e learning to be a community again. We forgot about that, how to be a community, one people.鈥�
Federal Minister of Indigenous Services Patty Hadju attended the celebration, recognizing the significant work the band has done in a short time.
鈥淟ast year was the most devastating wildfire season on record, and the members of Skwl膩x te Secwepemc煤l虛ecw experienced it firsthand. And people pulled together, and to me that鈥檚 the spirit of this country, these nations that we live in,鈥� she said. 鈥淭oday, thanks to the incredible work by their leaders, and because of their strength and determination, they will soon be able to return to the community.鈥�
Determined to get people home as soon as possible, the band enlisted three construction companies 鈥� Paradigm, Allteck and Freeport 鈥� to help meet its ambitious timeline of the project, which the band said is in the neighbourhood of $30 million. Overseeing the work is Skwl膩x Resource Management, a band-owned company that maintains at least 50 per cent indigenous employment and 30 per cent local band members.
Though fire leveled 31 homes, the band celebrated that no members were lost but do still mourn the loss of beauty in the land, which Elder Wilfred Tomma said will never be fully restored in his lifetime. He also mentioned that, though they were material items, he feels the loss of some culturally significant objects.
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy that we did not have any casualties鈥� we never lost anything, all except the items,鈥� Elder Wilfred Tomma said. 鈥淏ut today I can honestly say this is the first time in my life that I feel naked, because I lost all my sacred objects. My sacred pipe, my drum, my smudge, everything that goes along with what we have carried a long time.鈥�
In addition to speeches, the Welcome Home event included a drum circle and prayer, tours of the finished houses and just being together as a community.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e really celebrating is the retention of who we are鈥� helping one another through this time,鈥� T岣眞em峒眕le7tn (Coun.) Wes Francois said. 鈥淭he resilience of us Secwepemc煤l虛ecw, we went through a lot of things in the last 10,000 years, and this is just another little bump in the road, and we will rebuild because we are strong.鈥�
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