Welcome Message from Chief Ed Hall, kʷikʷəƛ̓əm
ʔa: si:y̓e’m tə siyey̓əʔ ct ʔiʔ tə n̓a:ɬən ʔiməxneʔtə. ʔəm̓i ce:p kʷətxʷiləm ʔi ʔə tə n̓a šxʷ kʷikʷəƛ̓əm təməxʷ ʔiʔ Suwa’lkh skʷul
Honored friends, relatives, and visitors. Welcome to the ancestral, unceded lands of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm and Suwa’lkh School.
About Millside Centre
Rooted in Indigenous Learning
In 2016, Fresh Roots partnered with SD43’s Indigenous Education department to develop what is now the Suwa’lkh Medicine Garden, Healing Forest, and Orchard at Millside Center. The Medicine Garden was founded by Indigenous Education staff Malcolm Key and Carrie Clark as a space for students from Suwa’lkh School (located at Millside) to give students space to connect with the land and grow traditional medicines and food plants. In Malcolm’s words,
We needed somebody as a year-round steward of the garden… in partnership with the Indigenous Education department there, so Fresh Roots was an ideal partner for that. They had expertise in navigating through a school district…and expertise in facilitating gardening programs and all those types of things that go with it. (Read more from Malcolm.)
Growing Community Connections Today
Today, Millside grows food and traditional medicines for the community, with an extended growing season thanks to a greenhouse. The greenhouse also supports an Indigenous plant propagation program. Plants, and harvested medicines, go out into the community and are replanted in the 7-acre Healing Forest, which students and the Fresh Roots team have transformed into a place for learning and healing, with walking paths along the salmon stream, salmon berry patches, and an outdoor classroom. SOYL youth host weekly markets in the summer to sell veggies, fruit, preserves, and plants, and Camp Fresh Roots runs for three weeks each summer. Spring and Fall, we work with students based at Millside, and welcome classes from around the district for Field Trips.
At Millside, you can find…
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ Language Learning
Learn some hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ words with Chief Ed Hall!
x̌pey
Scientific Name
Thuja plicata
English
cedar
French
cèdre
Simplified Chinese
雪松树
p’elp’álq’emá:lews
Scientific Name
Populus trichocarpa (black cottonwood)
English
cottonwood
French
le peuplier
Simplified Chinese
白杨
lileʔ
Scientific Name
Rubus spectabilis
English
salmonberry
French
la ronce remarquable
Simplified Chinese
stó:lō
English
river
French
la rive
Simplified Chinese
河
scé:ɬtən
English
salmon
French
le saumon
Simplified Chinese
三文鱼
About hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (pronounced approximately hunquminum) is the traditional language of kʷikʷəƛ̓əm people, whose land Millside is on. It is also the traditional language of many of the other First Nations whose land Fresh Roots farm and teaches on, including q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and qiqéyt (Qayqayt). It’s considered the Downriver Dialect of the larger Halq̓eméylem language group.