Newsletter
Syiyaya Spring 2022 Newsletter
2022
a commitment to truth, reconciliation, and community participation.
In 2025, the festival underwent a significant evolution: it shifted from being primarily an awareness-raising event to becoming an established cultural festival.
New Features
New experiences were introduced, such as:
- Talking Trees
- Talking Totems
- cultural tours led by Indigenous ambassadors;
- activities focused on interpreting the landscape;
- workshops and experiences for both visitors and residents.
These activities aimed to explain the spiritual and historical significance of the forests, the totem poles, and the shíshálh territory from an Indigenous perspective.
Festival Continuity
The program once again included:
- art exhibitions;
- live music;
- children’s activities;
- StoryWalk®;
- historical tours;
- cultural ceremonies;
- a parade and July 1st celebration.
The District of Sechelt officially highlighted syíyaya Days as one of the year’s key community events and even installed a new series of street banners featuring designs by shíshálh artists to complement the festival.
Recognition Achieved in 2025
The movement’s growth garnered significant provincial recognition:
the syiyaya Reconciliation Movement received the British Columbia Reconciliation Award, in recognition of its leadership in community reconciliation and the impact achieved by syíyaya Days as a model of coexistence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
