Snuneymuxw First Nation revives Coast Salish Games
Chief Wyse of the Snuneymuxw First Nation said it is a huge honour to have Snuneymuxw host the games after the pause. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
After a long pause, the Coast Salish Games has once again kicked off in Nanaimo.
Hosted this year by the Snuneymuxw First Nation, the tournament brings Indigenous athletes ages seven to sixteen from across the Coast Salish region together to participate in various events including soccer, lacrosse, war canoe races, and basketball.
The competition will also feature the traditional Indigenous game Lahal, also known as the “bone game”. Lahal is a game of chance and bluffing where two teams guess where marked bones are located.
The Coast Salish Games have been given the hul'q'umi'num’ name tsetsuw' hiw'a'lum' (Set-su-wut-lum🗣) which translates to tsetsuw’ meaning beach, and hiw’a’lum’ meaning games or competition.
tsetsuw' hiw'a'lum' will run from July 22 until July 26. This year over 100 youth will participate in the games. CHLY attend the opening of the games on the first day on July 22.
At the opening Chief Mike Wyse of the Snuneymuxw First Nation said it is a huge honour to have Snuneymuxw host the games after the pause.
“These games are more than a showcase of athletic gifts, they are a celebration of our shared history, our deep-rooted traditions and the enduring spirit of our ancestors,” he said.
He said sports are a great way to showcase the strength of working together and being as one.
“Whether on the field, court or on the water. Athletes must communicate, cooperate and support each other to achieve their common goals,” he said. “This collective effort transcends individual abilities highlighting the strength and power that lives in the collective”
He said he encourages the participants to take time and meet other plays to share culture and strengthen the connections between generations and nations.
The mayor of Nanaimo, Leonard Krog also spoke at the opening ceremony saying sports are a wonderful way for those to build community and to help youth to learn how to work together and get along.
“You have to learn to compete hard, put your passion into it, just like you do in politics. But then at the end of the day, after the teamwork is over you function as friends and as comrades with each other, and that's what I hope all of you will learn,” Krog said. “You will learn that after the game is over you must reaim, become and create new friendships wherever possible. To see the First Nations of the coast and [Vancouver Island] come together again, in this kind of competition is a wonderful thing.”
After the opening Chief Wyse spoke to the media about the excitement of reviving the games.
He said he has seen the children participating in tsetsuw' hiw'a'lum' excited for the games and also meeting new people and making new friends.
He said the games highlight the importance of health and wellness for those in the community.
“Well, it's always about health and wellness. What sports bring to our people–health and wellness,” he said. “So we want to bring that forward to our kids and let them know that we support this 100 per cent moving forward and that all our communities know, health and wellness first.”
He said that the idea of restarting the games came from the late Chief Squtxulenuhw William “Chip” Seymour of the Cowichan Tribes who approached Chief Wyse about the idea.
“So he asked us if we'd be interested in bringing it back and I said, ‘Absolutely.’ So here we are today,” he said. “We're very excited and I thank our great uncle–our great Chief for thinking of us, by thinking of the kids and the games as well.”
tsetsuw' hiw'a'lum' leads into the Snuneymuxw Days celebrations which run from July 26 to 28. An annual celebration of Snuneymuxw culture, it features events throughout the weekend and opportunities for non-Snuneymuxw residents to experience the community and culture.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.