1. CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLE
Traditional Drumming and
Cultural Healing: An Interview
with Elder Fred John Part 1
David Wu
Pages 1-3
ECE Curriculum Box:
Language& Literacy
Page 3
Honouring the Mary Thomas
Memorial Scholarship ECE
Recipients 2009 and 2010:
Blessing the future
Pages 4-5
Online Cultural Resource: Four
Directions Teachings Website
Page 6
ACCS News &
Announcements
Page 6
Upcoming Conferences
and Events
Page 7-8
Jan-Feb 2011 Vol. 13 No. 5
ACCS: How did you get
into drumming and cultural
healing?
FJ: I felt that I was missing
something in my life, even
though I did a lot of skilled
labour in welding. When I
attended a Pow Wow while
living in Seattle, I realized I got
to follow this up because I felt it
in my spirit and my heart—the
Pow Wow, the songs – even
though I don’t know much about
it. When I returned to Lillooet
in Canada, I followed it up. We
had people in the same way as I
was. So we started learning about
our culture, but there wasn’t
very much to learn because we
didn’t know much about it. And
so we started bringing in people
who had the awareness of the
drumming and healing, so we
continued on and started working. Then I felt the need to help people. In my spirit I was
a helper, I wanted to help people. I found that by singing and using the sweat lodge, and
learning more about our ways we were doing really good work for our people back home.
And so I started doing the work. It came to me naturally, to learn how to sing—I must know
about 100 songs in the Pow Wow way, which I try to bring in the Nations from all over, like
the south, east, west and north, songs when I do sing and teaching the drumming.
The Elder that taught me said: “What I’m going to work with you is on reawakening your
spirit that’s been asleep. And a lot of us have gone through that. That way, when you do wake
you you’ll be able to follow up on it, learn your own culture and bring that back for your
people.” That’s what he did, and I understood, and that’s the teachings I teach now with my
drumming group I teach every Tuesday. I told them I will be touching on their culture side,
even though they may think they don’t have it but it’s always there. They took to the drum
really well.
Elder Fred John is a Cultural Elder and Adult Drug and Alcohol
Counsellor from Xaxlip Band, Lillooet Nation. Elder Fred does cultural
healing, teaches drumming, hand drums, Pow-Wow drums and
talking circle at the Hey-Way’-Noqu’ Healing Circle for Addictions
Society in East Vancouver. He also teaches drumming to preschool
children at Awahsuk AHS, Eagles Nest AHS, and Singing Frog AHS
Preschool. He can be reached at Hey-Way’-Noqu at (604) 874-1831.
Traditional Drumming and Cultural Healing:
An Interview with Elder Fred John, Part 1
by David Wu

2. 2January-February 2011 Caring For Our Children
The drum actually is a healing drum—it has the energy to clear
you up and get you back in balance. That’s why a lot of them
come every Tuesday. Some of them are working full-time; they
got no place to go to do this so they come here after they get
off work. I start this from 5:30 to 7 o’clock, so it helps them get
back into their culture. Then they go home and they re-learn
their own way. That’s how I’ve been teaching here.
ACCS: What type of help do you offer?
FJ: Here we do alcohol and drug counselling. Our counsellors
are skilled in several different areas. We work with the whole
family actually because we do, so we have a child counsellor
and we have youth counsellors. And I work with the elderly.
The majority of our people don’t have their idea of their own
culture, so they want to learn, and they want to hear about the
culture because they had a bad experience, so we help them
reconnect. Once the culture is re-awakened, it’s almost like
the balance of their life has come back. They’ve been walking
off-balance, like maybe you know, that something is missing.
I knew I wasn’t all there. I was good at what I was doing, but I
didn’t feel complete till I got my culture side re-awakened and
brought back to me.
ACCS: How did you meet your teacher, the Elder who
opened it up for you?
FJ: He came from down south, South Dakota. Our Alcohol
and Drug Counsellor down there called him up, told him our
people needed some help. So he came up and he did a Yuwipi
ceremony as a healing ceremony. It’s a ceremony where he
brought in the spirit people to brush us off.
ACCS: Do you lead sweat lodges?
FJ: Yeah, I got into learning how to do that, teach how to
prepare it, also teach people how to do the sweat lodges.
There’s a lot of learning to do. Sweat lodge is really a cleansing
of the spirit. Not only the body—you take a shower and clean
your body off, but the spirit that is in you is still not cleansed,
right? It’s still hurting. So what the sweat lodge does, it takes
all of that, removes all of that within you.
ACCS: Can you tell us something about the Sundance?
FJ: Sundance is such a sacred model that they could connect
with, maybe whenever you attend Pow Wows there would be
majority of the Sundancers already there, they would come and
do the Pow Wow dance too. Or you could connect with them
through the ceremonies, learn more about the ceremonies.
ACCS: Our teachers who work with the little ones, many
of them have either experienced or have loved ones who
had painful experiences in residential schools. Many
parents and teachers are finding that they need to do
their own healing in order to be fully present to the next
generation. Do you have any comments or stories on that?
FJ: We have come to the crossroads now, accepting or
reawakening… like we want to put it to sleep – the dragon.
We find that changing our culture was not right, the
people who did that to us. So now the Prime Minister,1
the
government of Canada, apologized to the people for having
that put upon us2
, and that really helped a lot of our people.
It helped me so much that, when my language was taken from
me, I could not learn it again because my subconscious told
me no, I was told to not do it, right? I couldn’t break that,
and he broke it for me. He dropped, put the guard down,
and I thought to myself, but my sister passed away at that
school, and so I was thinking about her when this happened.
I thought, “I wish you were here, sister, ‘cause we’ve been
waiting for this for a long time.”
ACCS: The Prime Minister’s apology broke the block for
you.
FJ: Broke the subconscious, now I’m able to speak my
language. What happened was it brought me back to the five
year old little boy I was that was in the school speaking, totally
my language. It brought me all the way back there. Now, I’m
able to speak my language fluently but I don’t know what I’m
saying—can you imagine that? I’m driving down the road
and all of a sudden I could hear the people from the past
talking the language and I’m repeating what they’re saying. I’m
thinking, what am I saying? I know I heard this when I was a
little boy, right? I’m able to speak now, but now I got to learn
the language, of what it is that the words are saying. A lot of
our Elders have passed on.
ACCS: Are there people who speak the language who can
help you to remember?
FJ: Yes, there are some now, they brought it to the school. In
my home town, they have teachers that bring the language
in school, but I still have problems matching it. I got a book
on Stl’atl’imc3
, I can say the words, but my memory has
to catch up to all of that and try to put that back in, the
vocabulary. When I was a little boy before I went to that
school, my parents, we travelled in the seasons. My parents
Elder Fred John (lower right), leading a First Nations Cultural and
Drumming Awareness workshop at our Annual Conference 2010
(Photo: David Wu)

3. 3Caring For Our Children January-February 2011
would use to go down to the berry patches down in the
States, or hop-picking, you know, and us little children we’d
mingle with their children, you know, they’d be children
from other nations, right? And I learned how to speak their
language. I learned how to speak three languages when I went
to a residential school. I was able to speak to the kids in that
school because we came from all over, and I could speak their
language, but we would get beatings like mad. The beatings
were terrible. A lot of the clients that I see will not go there
yet. They’ve been through so much, they don’t want to bring
it back. So, some of them are still dependent on their drinking
to numb the pain. They don’t want to talk about it. It’s okay
if their kids get healed. See, the kids don’t understand why
they are hurting—it’s not their hurt, it’s their parents hurt – I
explained that to the kids. They’re aware, and they’re willing to
forgive their parents. The parents put the kids through what
the residential schools put them through, the parents did the
same to the kids and they don’t deserve that. And I explain
that to the generations now.
ACCS: Do you think the kids carry the pain and those
messages subconsciously in their bodies?
FJ: Yeah, they feel the pain that the parents have. They don’t
know why they got it. I explained to them why they have it
now. It’s got to stop with your generation, I tell them, “It’s got
to stop, you can’t carry it on to your next generation.” So they
realize that. They ask “Why didn’t my parents tell me?” I said
“Because they didn’t want to make you hurt like they did.”
But they’re using residential school methods on their kids –
beatings, I hear the beatings, putting them in the closet, yelling,
it’s just terrible – that’s how they were treated in the residential
schools. And I told my children, I said: “I don’t know if I’m
going to do right being a parent for you, but I’ll do my best.” I
was never taught being a parent because from when I was five
years old to fifteen, all of that was taken from me.
ACCS: How old were you when you had to go to residential
school?
FJ: When I was five years old. I was there for ten long years.
ACCS: Were you allowed to visit home once in a while?
FJ: I was allowed to visit in my later years. When I went
home my Elders were angry at me for not speaking my own
language. I started crying because I didn’t know how to speak
my own language.
ACCS: It’s not like you had a choice.…What have you
learned in working with the young children – drumming
circle, healing, etc.?
FJ: One thing I really learned in our culture is the children are
also our teachers. I ask them for help sometimes. Their spirit
is pure, ‘cause when they are born, their spirit is so pure just
like the mountains and trees and the flowers, and they haven’t
been hurt yet, there’s no pain yet, there’s no beatings yet –
they’re little right? And we protect them. So they have the
energy and power to help us too. So when I see a little child
when I’m in pain, I ask a little child, you know, just a wave or
a “hi”, you know, returning that to me – that clears it up for
me. When a child enters a room, the whole energy changes.
To be continued in the next issue of Caring for Our Children.
1 Prime Minister Stephen Harper
2 National Apology for the Indian Residential Schools on June 11, 2008.
3 Stl’atl’imc is the language of Lillooet First Nation.
ECE Curriculum Box:
Language& Literacy
Language and Literacy: Alphabet puzzles, Northern Learning
to Read series, CDs, Wordless books, Bannock Bingo and
Poster, Connect the Letter Tracing Activity Bag “Zoe and the
Fawn”, DVDs, Magnetic letters and picture books.
To borrow Language and Literacy or other ECE Curriculum
Boxes, please contact Resource Librarian Pepper Brewster at
(604) 913-9128 ext. 229 or email library@acc-society.bc.ca
Language and Literacy Curriculum Box -- something for everyone!
(Photo: David Wu)

4. 4January-February 2011 Caring For Our Children
Joceyln Martin, 2009
Scholarship Award recipient
for Basic ECE Certificate. Of
Gitxsan heritage, Jocelyn now
works as an Enhancement
Worker at North Cariboo
Aboriginal Family Program
Society in Quesnel, BC.
Honouring the 2009 and 2010 Award Recipients of the Mary Thomas Memorial
ECE Scholarship: Blessing the Future
We are pleased to announce the 2009 and 2010 Award winners of the Mary Thomas Memorial ECE Scholarships. We raise our
hands to congratulate Jocelyn Martin, Sandy Wells, Annette Vivier, Caroline Chandler, and Edna Davis. Well done!
2009 Scholarship Recipients
For the $1000 Scholarship for Basic ECE Certificate or Diploma
Jocelyn Martin, Gitxsan, attended the College of New Caledonia in Quesnel and completed her Basic ECE Certificate with
Honours on June 18, 2009.
Sandy Wells, Lil’wat Nation, attended the Native Education College in Vancouver and completed her Basic ECE Certificate on
July 11, 2008 (which made her eligible for the 2009 scholarship cycle).
For the $1500 Scholarship for Post-Basic ECE Certificate or Diploma
Annette Vivier, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, attended North Island College in Campbell River and completed her Post-Basic ECE
Infant/Toddler Diploma on December 19, 2008 (which made her eligible for the 2009 scholarship cycle).
NOTE: The BC Aboriginal Child Care Society (ACCS) normally awards only one Basic and one Post-Basic scholarship each year; however, in 2008 there were no
eligible applicants for the Basic scholarship, so 2008 funds were carried forward and ACCS awarded two Basic Scholarships for the 2009 scholarship cycle only.
Jocelyn Martin
Greetings to Everyone! My name is Jocelyn Martin, and I am from Quesnel BC. My grandfather
was part of the Gitxsan Nation, and my family and I are just beginning to trace our Aboriginal
heritage. I am very interested in finding out more about where I came from. I was very excited to
learn that I had been awarded the Mary Thomas ECE Scholarship for excellence in completing my
basic ECE certificate from the College of New Caledonia here in Quesnel. I am currently working
for the North Cariboo Aboriginal Family Program Society, and hold the Enhancement Worker
position. I am responsible for the Aboriginal Infant Development (AIDP)/Aboriginal Supported
Child Development (ASCD) Programs. I absolutely love my job, and look forward to what the
future will bring. I am currently working towards my ECE Diploma through Northern Lights
College, and will have completed it by June 2011.I am a mother of a 4 year old little girl, and a
step mother to a 14 month old little boy. Children are the light of my life both personally and
professionally, and I love watching as they grow and learn in new and exciting ways.
Sandy Wells, 2009 Scholarship Award recipient for Basic ECE Certificate. A member of the Lil’wat nation,
Sandy works at the infant program at Pqusnalhcw Child Care Centre, Mount Currie.
Sandy Wells
Hello everyone, my name is Sandy Bernice Wells. I am 24 years old. I just completed my diploma in
Aboriginal Early Childhood Education with specialization in infant and toddler 3 years and under at
the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT). I am planning on going back to school to finish
my diploma in Aboriginal early childhood education specializing in special needs. After that, my
dream is to either become a school teacher or an occupational therapist. I enjoy going to school and
learning about new things. I believe that children deserve to be treated equally and fairly because they
are our future. I work in the infant program at Pqusnalhcw Child Care Centre, Mount Currie. I love
my job because every day is new and exciting. I have my family and friends to thank for helping me
get where I am today. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to share with you who I am.

5. 5Caring For Our Children January-February 2011
Annette Vivier
I am from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver and currently live and work in beautiful
Campbell River on Vancouver Island. I am the mother of two beautiful and witty children who make
me laugh every day. I volunteer with both Hockey BC and our local lacrosse organization. I work at
an urban aboriginal family life society as the program manager for the Aboriginal Supported Child
Development Program. I am blessed to work with children with support needs and their families. I
absolutely love working with children and am always amazed by their resiliency and ability to see the
good in everything. I finished my certificate in Early Childhood Education back
2010 Scholarship Recipients
For the $1000 Scholarship for Basic ECE Certificate or Diploma
Caroline Chandler, Squamish Nation, attended the Native Education College in Vancouver and completed her Basic ECE
Certificate on July 16, 2010.
For the $1500 Scholarship for Post-Basic ECE Certificate or Diploma
Edna Dennis, Okanagan/Kaska, attended Northern Lights College in Fort St. John and completed her Post-Basic ECE
combined Infant/Toddler and Special Needs Diploma on June 25, 2010.
Caroline Chandler, 2010
Scholarship Award recipient for
Basic ECE Certificate. A member
of Squamish Nation, Caroline
is currently a substitute ECE
teacher in Squamish Nation.
Caroline Chandler Bio
My name is Caroline Chandler and I am from the Squamish Nation. I enrolled in the Basic ECE
program in January 2010 because I was working on contract at Tin-Mun-Mun Daycare in Squamish.
I graduated from the basic program in July 2010! I am a substitute ECE teacher in Squamish,
and I am currently enrolled in the Post-Basic ECE program. I will be going on my Infant/Toddler
practicum, and then my Special Needs Practicum starting on January 26th, 2011. I really enjoy
working with children and feel that they are all gifts from the creator! I love waking up every day to
help children develop in the best possible way that they can, and to ensure that they have fun doing
it! After I graduate from the Post-Basic program, I want to start working and go to school part-time
to work towards getting my BA in ECCE. One of my favourite quotes pretty much sums it up: “No
one yet has fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generousity hidden in the soul of a child. The
effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure’’ - Emma Goldman.
Edna Dennis, 2010 Scholarship
Award recipient for Post-Basic
ECE Certificate. Of Okanagan
and Kaska Dene heritage,
Edna is the Early Childhood
Educator K-4 Supervisor at
the Witsuwiten Child & Family
Centre in Moricetown, BC.
Edna Dennis
My name is Edna Dennis. I work at the Witsuwiten Child & Family Center in Moricetown, B.C.
with the Aboriginal Headstart K-4 program. I have worked at the Center since September 2001,
starting out as a Supported Child Care Worker, ECE Assistant, Outreach Worker, Snack/Cook and
alternate bus driver. I have six children and five grandchildren. I am from the Okanagan Nation
from the Interior of British Columbia but I was adopted into the Laksilyu Clan which is the Small
Frog Clan from the Witsuwiten in Moricetown, B.C. My father is from the Kaska Dene Nation
from Northern B.C.; he belonged to the Wolf Clan. I have been married for twenty nine years,
living in Smithers then in Moricetown. In April 2003 I started taking courses towards my ECE
Certificate which I received in 2007. In May 2010 I finished my Early Childhood Infant Toddler
Practicum, then finishing all courses for my Early Childhood Diploma, with high academics. I love
working with children, they are our future and each one is so unique. “The sky is the limit in what
a child can learn and what you can teach a child. I was always told that you learn something new every
day, no matter how big or small. Life is a life-long learning experience you are never too old to learn.”
AnnetteVivier,2009ScholarshipAwardrecipientforPost-BasicECECertificate.AmemberoftheTsleil-WaututhNation,
AnnetteisanAboriginalSupportedChildDevelopmentConsultantattheLaichwiltachFamilyLifeSocietyinCampbellRiver.

6. 6January-February 2011 Caring For Our Children
Online Cultural Resource
Four Directions Teachings Website
www.fourdirectionsteachings.com
This is the welcome page of the Four Directions Teachings website (Courtesy:
Invert Media) If your Nation or community would like to do a similar website
for your cultural teachings, you can call Invert Media at (416) 530-2752 or
email info@invertmedia.com. We look forward to similar websites featuring
West Coast First Nations, Inuit and Métis teachings for our young ones. The Diagram for Cree Teachings from FourDirectionsTeachings.com. All
teachings are presented in online flash animation format, and transcripts
are available in HTML format or downloadable PDF format.
When you visit FourDirectionsteachings.com you are in for a visual treat: beautiful graphics, breathtaking animation and
professionally narrated cultural teachings and traditional stories. The thoughtful layout of the website is designed to encourage
the viewer to find out more about our rich Indigenous cultural heritage. The website features the traditional cultural teachings
of five First Nations: M’ikmaq, Mohawk, Ojibwe, Cree, and Blackfoot. Downloadable transcripts (in HTML or PDF format),
audio recordings and a Teachers Resource Guide are available for educators to incorporate the site into their curriculum.
FourDirectionsteachings.com was created by Invert Media, an Aboriginal multimedia company in Ontario in 2006. Doug
Anderson, Invert Media’s Strategic and Creative Director, said: “The website is intended not as a replacement but an introduction
to First Nations cultural teachings. We want to encourage young people to seek out and learn their own heritage in a deeper
way.” FourDirectionsteachings.com was funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
ACCS NEWS & ANNOUCEMENTS
Two ACCS Publications Now Available Online as Downloadable PDFs
We are pleased to announce that two of our publications, Developing Culturally Focused Aboriginal Early Childhood Education
Programs: A Handbook (2000) and Valuing the Community Voice: The Coordination and Integration of Aboriginal Early
Childhood Education Programs (2005) are now available online as downloadable PDF documents. Hard copies are also available
by request. Please contact our Resource Librarian, Pepper Brewster at library@acc-society.bc.ca or call (604) 913-9128 ext. 229.
Developing Culturally Focused
Aboriginal ECD Programs (2000),
written by Darrel McLeod, is a
guide for integration First Nations
culture into early childhood
education programs.
Valuing the Community Voice
(2005), prepared by Kathleen
Jamieson for BC ACCS, This is a
report on the 2005 four regional
two-day workshops, focus group
and interviews in Vancouver
of Aboriginal early childhood
development (ACED) workers
on the definition and vision of
AECD, and steps needed to better
coordination and integration of
ACED programs in the province.

7. 7Caring For Our Children January-February 2011
UPCOMING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
National Research Centre Conference
Sharing Truth - Creating a National Research Centre on
Residential Schools
When: March 1-3, 2011
Where: Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, 1088 Burrard
Street, Vancouver BC
Contact: Forquestionsregardingregistrationplease
email trc2011@pr1me.ca or call (604) 601-
8377 or tool-free 1-866-904-8377 and ask for
Ruby Smith. For more information, please
visit www.trc.ca
Description: Canada’s Residential School system lasted 150
years. Aboriginal families continue to feel its negative impacts
today. As part of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s
mandate to educate Canadians about Residential schools and
their legacy, a National Research Centre will be established.
Join TRC Commissioners Chair Justice Murray Sinclair, Chief
Wilton Littlechild and Marie Wilson as they hear from experts
from truth commissions from around the globe. These experts
have been invited to share their ideas and strategies for the
development of the National Research Centre on Residential
Schools. Stakeholders attending this forum will include
representatives from international, federal and provincial
governments, academia, archivists and institutes. Residential
School survivors, Aboriginal organizations and parties to the
Residential School Settlement Agreement will also be invited.
The 4th International Conference on
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
The Power of Knowledge: Integrating Research, Policy,
and Promising Practice Around the World
When: March 2-5, 2011
Where: The Westin Bayshore, 1601 Bayshore Drive,
Vancouver, BC
Contact: Katia Selezeneva Phone: (604) 822-7524,
Fax: (604) 822-4835,
Email: ipad@interchange.ubc.ca
Website: www.interprofessional.ubc.ca
Description: Our understanding of FASD is entering a period
of rapid expansion and change, dramatically increasing our
comprehension of the breadth and depth of the global impact
of this lifelong disability. This 4th International conference
will provide an advanced forum for emerging and cutting edge
research, policy and practice that will assist governments, service
systems, service providers, parents and caregivers, as we strive
to address the complex issues of FASD. This new knowledge
will be an impetus for critical action in supporting women,
individuals, families, and communities around the world.
4th International Meeting on Indigenous
Child Health
When: March 4-6, 2011
Where: Vancouver, BC
Contact: CPS Education Department 1-613-526-9397,
ext 263 or email education@cps.ca
Description: The theme of the 4th International Meeting on
Indigenous Child Health is Securing Our Future: Advancing
Circles of Caring. It will be hosted by the Canadian
Paediatric Society and the American Academy of Pediatrics,
in cooperation with the Indian Health Service and the First
Nations Inuit Health Branch, Health Canada. Child health
providers and researchers dedicated to working with American
Indian, Alaska Native, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children
and families are encouraged to attend. Participants will have
the opportunity to share model programs and research, and
develop practical skills that can be utilized in community
settings. Visit www.cps.ca or www.aap.org/nach for more
information.
Disseminating Evidence-based Practices in
Children’s Mental Health Conference
When: Mar 20 – 23, 2011
Where: Banff, Alberta
Description: This 43rd Banff International Conference on
Behavioural Science will present addresses and workshops on
the latest research findings and clinical applications on the
dissemination of evidence-based practices for various child
and adolescent disorders. Leading scientist-practitioners from
across North America will examine issues and controversies
concerning effective dissemination of evidence-based
practices for child and adolescent mental health. The target
audience for this conference includes clinicians, researchers
and policy makers working in the field of children’s mental
health. Register online at: www.banffcentre.ca/conference_
registration/2011/BVS1103
FNSA 15th Annual Conference and Annual General
Meeting: Leading in Language Learning
When: April 15 – 16, 2011
Where: Costal Plaza Hotel and Suites, 1763 Comox
Street, Vancouver, BC
Registration: Online registration at https://www.
yourconferencesolution.com/registration/fnsa/
Or call (604) 925-6087 or email fnsa@fnesc.ca
Description: This exciting learning and networking
event is dedicated to promoting excellence in First Nations
schools. Robert Matthew, the principal of Chief Atahm

8. BC Aboriginal
Child Care Society
Karen Isaac,
Executive Director
Eugene Harry (XiQuelem),
Elder
Lynn McBride,
Child Care Advisor
Mary Burgaretta,
Aboriginal Child Care Advisor
David Wu,
Community Liaison Researcher
Pepper Brewster,
Resource Librarian
Scott Nahanee,
Administrative Assistant/
Accounts Payable
Editor/Writer: David Wu
Design: DanceyDesign
Printing: Initial Print
Caring for Our Children is
published by the BC Aboriginal
Child Care Society. It is
distributed to ACCS members, on
and off reserve child care centres,
Head Start programs, Bands
and Tribal Councils in BC and
individuals interested in early
childhood education and care
from a First Nations perspective.
Readers are invited to reprint
articles provided proper credit
is given. We welcome the
submission of articles, book
reviews, artwork, photos, letters
and poetry.
We acknowledge current
funding support from The BC
Ministry of Children and Family
Development. BC ACCS is a
proud affiliate of the Canadian
Child Care Federation (CCCF).
ACCS membership also means
membership with the CCCF,
including automatic subscription
to the CCCF Interaction
magazine.
For more information please feel
free to contact us:
BC Aboriginal Child Care Society
708-100 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC V7T 1A2
T: 604.913.9128
F : 604.913.9129
reception@acc-society.bc.ca
www.acc-society.bc.ca
Funded by the Province
of British Columbia
Secwepemc Immersion School, is this year’s keynote speaker and the FNSA also welcomes
Mike Mattos of Solution Tree and Tom Finegan of Kagan Associates.
ECEBC’s 40th Annual Conference 2011
When: May 12, 13, and 14, 2011
Where: Radisson Hotel Vancouver Airport, 8181 Cambie Road, Richmond BC
The theme for this year’s conference is Dedicated to Leading and Creating Change. It will be
held at the Radisson Hotel Vancouver in Richmond, BC. To find out more, information
please visit the ECEBC website: www.ecebc.ca, or contact Alison Eagles, Conference
Coordinator at conference.ecebc@look.ca or (604) 709-6063.
CONTENTS
FEATURE ARTICLE
Traditional Drumming and
Cultural Healing: An Interview
with Elder Fred John Part 1
David Wu
Pages 1-3
Honouring the Mary Thomas
Memorial Scholarship ECE
Recipients 2009 and 2010:
Blessing the future
Pages 4-5
Online Cultural Resource: Four
Directions Teachings Website
Page 6
ACCS NEwS
ANNoUNCEmENTS
Page 6
UPComINg CoNFERENCES
AND EvENTS
Page 7-8
Jan-Feb 2011 Vol. 13 No. 5
ACCS: How did you get
into drumming and cultural
healing?
FJ: I felt that I was missing
something in my life, even
though I did a lot of skilled
labour in welding. When I
attended a Pow Wow while
living in Seattle, I realized I got
to follow this up because I felt it
in my spirit and my heart—the
Pow Wow, the songs – even
though I don’t know much about
it. When I returned to Lillooet
in Canada, I followed it up. We
had people in the same way as I
was. So we started learning about
our culture, but there wasn’t
very much to learn because we
didn’t know much about it.
And so we started bringing in
people who had the awareness
of the drumming and healing,
so we continued on and started
working. Then I felt the need to help people. In my spirit I was a helper, I wanted to help
people. I found that by singing and using the sweat lodge, and learning more about our ways
we were doing really good work for our people back home. And so I started doing the work.
It came to me naturally, to learn how to sing—I must know about 100 songs in the Pow
Wow way, which I try to bring in the Nations from all over, like the south, east, west and
north, songs when I do sing and teaching the drumming.
The Elder that taught me said: “What I’m going to work with you is on reawakening your
spirit that’s been asleep. And a lot of us have gone through that. That way, when you do wake
you you’ll be able to follow up on it, learn your own culture and bring that back for your
people.” That’s what he did, and I understood, and that’s the teachings I teach now with my
drumming group I teach every Tuesday. I told them I will be touching on their culture side,
even though they may think they don’t have it but it’s always there. They took to the drum
really well.
Elder Fred John is a Cultural Elder and Adult Drug and Alcohol
Counsellor from Xaxlip Band, Lillooet Nation. Elder Fred does cultural
healing, teaches drumming, hand drums, Pow-Wow drums and
talking circle at the Hey-Way’-Noqu’ Healing Circle for Addictions
Society in East Vancouver. He also teaches drumming to preschool
children at Awahsuk AHS, Eagles Nest AHS, and Singing Frog AHS
Preschool. He can be reached at Hey-Way’-Noqu at (604) 874-1831.
Traditional Drumming and Cultural Healing:
An Interview with Elder Fred John, Part 1
Caring for Our Children Newsletter
Electronic Version
To our members and subscribers of Caring for Our
Children: To be kinder and gentler to the environment,
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would like to receive it. Haychka Siem. –David Wu,
Community Liaison Researcher.
Email: david@acc-society.bc.ca