Talk of salmon dominated the Song Sparrow stage at the celebration of Uninterrupted’s migration to the Shuswap.
Louis Thomas, Secwépemc knowledge keeper, began his welcome to the territory with his usual upbeat humour, throwing in an Elvis tidbit, along with pointing out that being a big Canucks fan, he thinks of the territory as Canuck-úl’ecw.
However, his tone shifted when he spoke of the salmon returning during the 2022 dominant run.
“It’s sad. I’m not a bringer of bad news, but I see the disappearance of all our plants, of all our trees, especially our fish and our water. It’s a real concern for me.”
He said when he took his mother, Mary Thomas, to Kamloops 30 years ago, she looked at the Thompson River and said, ‘where’s the water?’ That remains his question, he said.
“I see all our creeks drying up, our salmon are having a heck of time, in fact we’ve lost all our salmon in our river here... I believe that responsibility lies with all of us. I keep saying it over and over. They call us caretakers of the land; I keep saying that now that you people are here, I think responsibility lies with all of us.”
Salmon Arm Mayor Alan Harrison remembered how, in 1966 when he was in Grade 2 at Mount Ida Elementary, he went on his first field trip and his first visit to the Adams River sockeye run. That trip with the astonishing “sea of red” of spawning salmon became a shared wonder for his family, his children and now his grandchildren. He said his wish is that in 2058, his grandchildren and their famlies will visit the dominant salmon run.
Read more: Virtual reality spectacle of 2010 sockeye run returns to Shuswap
Read more: Paying tribute to a primeval passage
Read more: Marvelling at the magnificence of salmon
Nettie Wild, director of Uninterrupted, the cinematic spectacle born from the four-million strong dominant Adams River salmon run in 2010, expressed her appreciation for the fish and for all the “extraordinary local heroes” who made the recent return of the 2010 salmon in a VR (virtual reality) form to the Shuswap a reality.
She expressed thank yous to many, including the Little Shuswap Lake Band, the Switzmalph Society, Salmon Arm Economic Development and project coordinator Caitlin Thompson, Shuswap Community Foundation, Song Sparrow Hall, lead funder the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Associaiton (TOTA) and more.
Four of the VR headsets showing Uninterrupted are part of the water exhibition, Séwllkwe, at the Salmon Arm Arts Centre and will remain there for the public until Dec. 10.
A riveting part of the thoughtful and celebratory night was the Melawmen Collective, described as a live performance musical act with a vision to create connections between human beings through stories, history, art and music.
Lead singer Meeka Morgan explained Melawmen means medicine in Secwepemctsin (the Secwépemc language). In introducing the band’s first song, the powerful Indian Soul, she explained that three people on stage were the first generation to not have to attend residential or day school. Her son, Kiva Morgan-Hall, also on vocals, is the only second generation band member who didn’t have to go.
More about the Melawmen Collective and their music and artistry can be found at www.melawmen.ca
martha.wickett@saobserver.net
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