The Healing Is In the Land
A visit to Nawalakw, an Arc’teryx community partner, showcased a healing vision brought to life.
Images By: Marinda White | Words By: Lisa Richardson
Location: Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw
As outdoor lovers, we draw immeasurable benefit from immersion in outdoor places. And as visitors, we learn so much about how to be in harmony with nature and each other, from those who co-evolved with a place since time before memory. This summer, four Arc’teryx team members travelled to Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw territory, where Arc’teryx has been honoured to sponsor the visionary Nawalakw initiative with gear support. Immersed in the culture, language, and land of their hosts, our team felt their own roots strengthen.
Off the northern coast of Vancouver Island in central British Columbia is the traditional territory of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw people who have lived and flourished in the forests and oceans of this raincoast since time out of mind.
Here, where it rains on average 1500mm a year, and waterfalls tumble into the sea, cedar trees grow fat from the moisture. To protect these sacred ancestral lands from logging, former elementary school teacher and hereditary chief, ’Max̱waya̱lidzi K’odi Nelson, picked up his community’s long-held vision for a healing space, and turned it into something more.
He founded Nawalakw to create a Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw presence, revitalize language and teach the community’s children to be proud of who they are. “A wise Chief once told us, ‘our rivers were never meant to be alone.’ When we are here, we create a presence. That presence allows us to protect and care for the land, sea,” says K’odi. The first phase of the vision came to life in July 2022: a solar-powered 2400–square foot Language & Culture Camp,hi’ma̱nis ḵ̓aḵ̓ut̓ła̱’at̓si on the Hada River (Bond Sound) deep in Ḵwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w traditional territory. “Just being here is wellness.”
Arc’teryx has been honoured to partner with Nawalakw. Providing gear donations, in a place where it rains between 12 and 20 days every month of the year, helps ensure the team of instructors, camp staff, and language teachers are warm and dry as they connect with the land and their students and guests.
Says Marinda White, a Lead at the Arc’teryx Calgary Brand Store, photographer, and member of Arcteryx’s Indigenous, Métis, and Inuit Belonging Council (IMIBC), “I was only there for a single night and there was so much to take in. If I wasn’t able to partake in activities because of inadequate gear, I would not have walked away with the same feelings and experience.”
Marinda was one of three members of the IMIBC who were guests at Nawalakw Language & Culture Camp this summer, located in Ḵwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w traditional territory. They also spent time in ’Ya̱lis, Alert Bay in the traditional territory of the ʼNa̱mǥis Nation. All three IMIBC members come from different nations themselves, but Marinda sensed their commonalities as they got to know each other outside of work. “I think every Indigenous community holds the same values around land, culture, and community.”
I think every Indigenous community holds the same values around land, culture, and community.
They also share the heavy legacy of the effects of the residential school system and the Indian Act. Starting the visit with a tour of the site of the St. Michael’s Residential School, a building that had been deconstructed brick by brick by the community, after over a hundred years of operation, was a heartbreaking reminder of how every Indigenous community carries generational trauma. “We each have our own burdens to carry, but it is a collective burden as well. It was incredibly heartwarming to see grief turned into the rebuilding of a community.”
Ashley Sparrow, an IMIBC member and Arc’teryx Senior Guest Services Representative, noted how pride rippled beyond Nawalakw through the broader community. “Everyone on the island knew the team and commented on the magnificent work they are doing.”
Everyone on the island knew the team and commented on the magnificent work they are doing.
From witnessing a robust salmon return following the removal of salmon farms, to the community garden that grows produce for both the camp and the surrounding community, to hearing about cherished repatriated potlatch regalia at the U’mista Cultural Centre, Sparrow was inspired by the community’s resilience, and their genuine hospitality. “They treated us like family. The whole experience made me want to contribute back home with my community. And I learned I shouldn’t be shy about where I come from — sharing my culture is a powerful way to connect with others.”
Jonah Gonzales, an IMIBC member who is a Product Guide at Arc’teryx Park Royal, was impressed to see how far the Nawalakw project had come, and how big its impact, in just two years.
“I felt a lot of emotions being at Hada,” reflects Gonzales. “I was moved by the Nawalakw team and their dedication to bringing people back home to their lands, not only to learn about it, but to experience it with their feet on the ground. Walking on their land was a privilege I won’t take for granted.”
