The Himanis Guardians help the Gwawa’enuxw First Nation honour the responsibility to care for their traditional lands and waters in all communities and all areas. They serve as the “eyes and ears” of their traditional territories.
Guava'enuxw Elder Julia Speck recently wrote to Hereditary Chief Irvin Speck, conferring on him the mandate to lead the Himanis Guardian program and the associated authority to uphold the respect of the Gwawa'enuxw heritage and traditional use of their natural resources (see letter below).
Guardians are on the ground to gather data informed by local and traditional knowledge to guide GFN’s response to the community’s many challenges. HDCS needs Guardians caring for the environment that will sustain animals, fish, and communities in the face of climate change and loss of biodiversity.
Guardians help restore the balance and the relationships with the land, water, and resources that sustained the people in GFN’s territories through good times and bad times.
These programs offer a renewal and strengthening of the communities and hope for youth seeking jobs rooted in Indigenous values, culture, and knowledge as well as newly defined occupations in tourism and seaweed harvesting.
First Nations have long honoured the responsibility to care for all lands and waters. They continue to uphold the traditional laws and teachings that sustained the people for millennia. In the recent period of colonization, the systems of governance and connections to the land have been deeply undermined by discriminatory legislation that attempted to separate the people from land, water, and their resources, including separating children from their parents, families, language, history, and culture. Now is the time of “New Beginnings”.
