Boo Maga January 2022

Boo Maga 

Puméke7 

January 2022 

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - #9 

Boo Maga January 2022.indd 1 

2021-12-14 11:01:06 AM

Contents 

Councillor’s Message 

4 

Councillor Shae Chelsea 

gives an overview of her 

year. 

Welcome to 

the Boo Maga 

(puméke7), which 

translates to 

“drum stick”. 

Recreation Year in Review 

6 

8 

A whole year of activities 

with Recreation! Which 

was your favorite? 

Recreation Year in Review 

Recreation continued! 

We just had too much 

fun to share. 

Elder Activities 

10 

12 

Carla Berkelaar catches 

us up on what the elders 

have been up to this year 

Staff Member Highlight 

Cedar 

14 

Check in with Brittany 

Zimmer, our Child and 

Youth Support Worker 

A poem by WLFN Intern 

Jia Zhang 

Got an idea or story 

for future editions? 

Contact us: 

shannon.skeels@wlfn.ca 

250-296-3507 ext.185 

General Inquiries: 

lisa.camille@wlfn.ca 

250-296-3507 ext.103 

Facebook: 

Williams Lake First 

Nation 

www.wlfn.ca 

2 BOO MAGA 


2021-12-14 11:01:07 AM

Councillor’s 

Message 

Weyt-kp xwexweytep, Shae 

Chelsea ren skwekwst (Hello 

everyone, my name is Shae 

Chelsea). 

“It’s the most wonderful time 

of the year”. The time of year 

that brings families and friends 

together and the start to a new 

year. For me, it’s also a time to be 

mindful about those that do not 

have family or are struggling. This 

is the time to be grateful for one 

another, and gift back to others 

that might not have what they 

need. In this unfortunate time 

of sickness, sadness, and greed; 

let us remember to hold each 

other up and help those families. 

Let’s do more for our neighbors, 

strangers, and those in our lives. 

I want to challenge all of you that 

can give back, to do so. Even if 

it is a small amount, everything 

counts. 

I have been busy in the past few 

months; time moves quickly when 

you are having fun. In August, I 

celebrated my first year being on 

Chief and Council. This first year 

has been a whirlwind to say the 

least, I am still so blessed for my 

fellow leadership who continue to 

educate me on things every day. I 

am also thankful for the sqlelten 

(salmon), we were able to fish this 

year down at the river. I was able 

to go dip netting (for the first time) 

with my brother, his partner, and 

an elder from the community. I 

was humbled that day, we were 

up at 5am, fishing until about 

11am, then off to clean all the 

salmon. This was an all-day event, 

and I had so much fun being with 

family the entire day. 

~Trigger Warning~ In the month 

of August, I also attended the 

ceremony for the St. Joseph’s 

Mission. This event brought us back 

to the realization of the tragic events 

that residential schools forced on 

the many children that they were 

imprisoned there. I say imprisoned 

because the children who were forced 

to attend these school were no longer 

children, they were prisoners. As a 

member of our future generation, we 

need to ensure this tragedy is never 

forgotten, and the people responsible 

are held accountable. We, as 

leadership and staff must continue to 

fight every day for our members and 

we must continue to stand with them 

in their battles against the trauma’s 

they endured at the residential and 

day schools. As I sang and drummed 

that day, I could feel the healing and 

the land acknowledging our presence. 

Every time our people sing, drum, 

and practice our culture, we heal and 

become resilient. As our language, 

culture and traditions continue 

to grow and come back to us, the 

stronger we become. We will continue 

to work hard on getting results for 

your questions, as we carry on the 

search for those missing. Thank you 

for your patience, as extensive work 

takes time. 

In September, the kids returned 

to school and the leaves began 

changing, fall was here. I had the 

privilege of accompanying the elders 

for sage and swamp tea picking. I 

BOO MAGA - JANUARY 2022 3 


2021-12-14 11:01:08 AM

spent two whole days laughing, 

learning and harvesting good 

medicines from the lands. At the 

end of the month, we hosted 

our annual Orange Shirt Day. 

This was an incredible turn out. 

People from many nations and 

our Non-First Nations allies 

were in attendance. We stood 

in solidarity and held each other 

up that day. We offered prayers, 

songs, drumming and, we were 

together. Thank you to everyone 

that attended the event, we were 

truly honored. During October, 

we traveled for our annual Chief 

and Council Strategy Session in 

Osoyoos, BC. Leadership worked 

tirelessly every day in our strategy 

sessions for the benefits of our 

community and, future decision’s 

we made for the upcoming year. 

Williams Lake First Nation also 

hosted a 2-night premier, to 

honor two of our 

members who starred in the film 

“Portraits from a Fire”. This event 

went spectacular, everyone in this 

film did an incredible job, I really 

enjoyed it. If you haven’t seen this 

film yet, I highly recommend you 

see it because it is a masterpiece. 

November was a busy time for 

everyone, I brought my family to 

the Remembrance Day ceremony. 

We honored my grandfathers, 

Bill Sellars, Douglas Tait and 

others who served in the wars 

they were in. It gave us a chance 

to reflect on the future they 

gifted to us with their bravery 

and the sacrifices they made 

to provide us with the lives we 

have now. I also had the pleasure 

of attending the Motherhood/ 

Fatherhood is Sacred training in 

Phoenix, Arizona. Through this 

training I was educated in using 

traditional methods to reconnect 

families, assisting them in healing 

from their traumas, and bringing 

families closer together. I will be 

able to offer this program to our 

members, as well as members 

from Xatsull First Nation and 

Canim Lake Indian Band. I am very 

excited to have the opportunity 

to assist others in finding a 

healthy, happy and safe path for 

their families within a safe space. 

I was happy to see the turnout for 

the Membership vote happening 

that happened on November 

25, 2021. This is where we bring 

members home, and vote for the 

new WLFN life being born. As I 

went to vote, I have considered 

how I am voting and why I voted 

for those individuals. I have made 

sure the votes I made are for 

people who have ties within our 

community. As our community 

is moving forward, we want all 

our members to benefit and 

thrive. Our community continues 

to grow with members moving 

home and members having 

babies. We have to be vigilant in 

our work and decisions so that 

they will have a bright and strong 

future. 

As we move past the holidays, I will 

continue to volunteer within the 

community. Unfortunately, due 

to the Covid restrictions, we could 

not have a community Christmas 

dinner which I find sad. I was not 

able to see everyone laughing, 

smiling, and visiting with one 

another. We were able, however, 

to host a drive thru Christmas 

dinner for all the members to be 

able to enjoy a Christmas dinner 

and the kids got some joy. I am 

hopeful in this New Year the 

restrictions will change and we 

can embrace one another again 

soon. For those that are struggling 

or just needing company, reach 

out to me and one another, so 

we can help where we can. For 

our people to succeed, we need 

one another and we need to help 

one another. We must remember 

this time is not about giving back, 

it’s about time with loved ones 

and teaching one another. Let’s 

continue to hold each other up 

and continue to be grateful for 

everything we have. 

I look forward to seeing you all 

in the New Year, once Covid 

restrictions ease. 

May good times and treasures 

of the present, become the 

golden memories of tomorrow. 

Wishing you lots of love, joy, and 

happiness. Happy New Year to 

all!! 

Yeri7 skukwstsetetsemc!! 

Shae Chelsea 

4 BOO MAGA - JANUARY 2022 


2021-12-14 11:01:10 AM

Recreation Round-up: 2021 

January 

In January we celebrated Self-Care Week by 

thoroughly pampering ourselves! We also 

made bird houses to keep all our local wild 

birds fed throughout the winter. 

February 

We moved our bodies this month with some fun and creative relay races. 

All that excercise made us hungry, so we learnt how to make bannock 

together. There’s no better way to refuel! 



2021-12-14 11:01:10 AM

March 

We took the children out to pick 

up litter from the park! They loved 

helping to clean up their community. 

We also learn how to make hot 

chocolate bombs - the perfect way to 

warm up! 

April 

April saw us eating lots of Easter treats! We also held a taco fundraiser which 

was a huge sucess. 

May 

6 

We celebrated Youth Week this month with activities 

such as Zumba, painting and a movie night. Hazel 

Grinder was the lucky winner of a Nintendo Switch 

for participating in all of the activities. 


2021-12-14 11:01:10 AM

July 

The Youth Leadership Program went for 

an overnight trip to Prince George for 

some fun activities such as Go-Karting 

and Mini Golf. The After-School program 

took a trip to the Kamloops Residential 

School with David Archie . 

June 

This month we built a fort together! We also 

enjoyed playing parachute games with all 

the children. The Youth Leadership Program 

spent some time creating their perfect icecream 

treat bowls. 

September 

In September we had Back to School 

Haircuts to get us ready for the 

upcoming school year! 30 children 

recieved new trims and nail polish! We 

also had a food tasting session - Druscilla 

is trying a lemon ! 

August 

We played some pool games to beat the 

heat this month. We also celebrated Mental 

Health Day with a day of pampering at the 

Gym. The children also took part in a bike 

picnic in which they cycled to St. Josephs 

Mission School and around the reserve. 



2021-12-14 11:01:12 AM

October 

October was a busy month! We 

created Turkey Hand Crafts, did some 

rock painting, took part in a Haunted 

Cupcake Fundraiser and had an 

amazing turnout at our Spooky 

Family Dance! At the dance we had 

pumpkin painting, cookie decorating, 

dancing, a costumr contest and lots 

of games! 

November 

We received 10 sleds as a donation from the RCMP, had some yoga sessions with 

Heather from Indigenous Pranayama Yoga, Invasive Species education and crafts with 

Camille from the Invasive Species Council of BC and Recreation bought a new Lego 

table! This was a big hit with the kids, they absolutely love it. Recreation also received a 

brand new community canoe in collaboration with the RCMP and Fortis BC. 

December 

That brings us to the end of our year! This 

December we have been creating Christmas 

Crafts together, such as paper tissue trees and 

beaded candy canes. We also held a wreath 

building workshop which was a huge hit. 

We cannot wait to see what we get up to in 2022! 

8 


2021-12-14 11:01:14 AM

WLFN Post- 

Secondary 

Student 

Highlight: 

Rhandi Prystae 

Master of Arts in Counselling 

Psychology at Yorkville 

University 

Weytk-p! My name is Rhandi 

Tsuilimenik Prystae (nee 

Alphonse), I was raised by my 

great grandparents in Lillooet 

(Kurt Mumm; Lillian Mumm 

(nee Wing); Secwepemc), and 

I spent some of my formative 

years with my parents (Tom 

Alphonse; T’exelcemc; Rhonda 

Bowe; Secwepemc, T’exelcemc, 

Esketemc) in T’exelc or what was 

then called Sugar Cane. During 

my childhood both in Lillooet and 

in T’exelc, I spent every minute 

I could on horseback. A passion 

that has continued through my 

life and has grown in disciplines 

and in horse breed variation. 

I am currently fortunate and 

tremendously grateful for the 

opportunity that the Williams Lake 

Band has permitted; allowing me 

to be a full-time student now 

and in the completion of my 

undergraduate degree in the 

past. I am studying at Yorkville 

University which offers online 

study. This has allowed me to 

continue working part-time while 

I complete a master’s degree in 

counselling psychology. I have 

had to let my horses go while I 

study but I still find time to hike, 

mountain bike, cross country ski, 

snowshoe, paddle board and 

practice yoga with the seasons. 

I currently reside in Tk’emlups 

with my husband Travis. We are 

looking forward to trying out the 

new trails at T’exelc! 

I chose psychology and more 

specifically counselling psychology 

as a program for a few reasons. 

The field of counselling psychology 

has been instrumental in assisting 

me through many challenging 

times in my life. I truly can say I’m 

not sure where I would have been 

without skilled counselling after 

the loss of my grandparents, and 

sister. It is common for people to 

experience grief, loss, anxiety, and 

trauma more than once in their 

lifetime. If we do not find ways to 

heal those experiences they can 

accumulate, and life can become 

more difficult than is necessary. 

I chose the master’s degree in 

counselling psychology through 

Yorkville University specifically as 

it is recognized by the Canadian 

Counselling Psychotherapy 

Association, allowing me to 

practice anywhere in Canada as 

a Psychotherapist. Ultimately, I 

hope in the future to share my 

knowledge and help people on 

their own healing journey. Thank 

you for taking the time to hear 

about a piece of my journey, 

and a big thank you again to the 

Williams Lake Band and Education 

Department for their support. 



2021-12-14 11:01:14 AM

Elder Activities 

in 2021 

Carla Berkelaar 

Happy New Year WLFN! I am Carla 

Berkelaar, WLFNs Community 

Support and Elders Worker. I 

started working here in May 

2019. That first year I was just 

getting my feet wet learning about 

the community and getting to 

know the Elders, and then 2020 

happened! All of us were so 

used to having gatherings, Elders 

meeting, Bingos, and going on 

trips and it all came to a stop. 

Thankfully 2021 has brought us 

hope for the future as the vaccines 

were rolled out. The Elders were 

some of the first ones to receive 

their vaccines, and I fortunately 

fell in with this group, because I 

was spending so much time with 

them. Part of my job is to shop 

for the elders, transport them to 

appointments and pick up various 

prescriptions. 

As the year progressed and we 

all received our second dose we 

were able to spend a bit more 

time together. We even managed 

to start up our in-person meetings 

for a short time over the summer. 

Unfortunately, that was short 

lived, but we have continued our 

bi-monthly meetings via Zoom At 

almost every meeting we have 

more and more Elders join in. 

Thank you to Chief Sellars for 

attending these meetings and 

updating the Elders on what is 

happening in the community. 

Every week we strive to have 

different presenters join us and 

share who they are and what their 

position is in the WLFN network. 

After the news of the 215 children’s 

graves discovered in Kamloops, 

it brought great sadness to our 

group. It was recommended that 

we take a trip in order to honour 

the children. 

It just so happened that our 

trip was planned at the end 

of the Yukon Warrior Walkers 

trip. We attended a day at the 

Kamloopa Pow Wow grounds 

on August 9 where we all came 

together to pray, sing, drum and 

also, to celebrate the end of the 

Warrior Walkers journey. It was a 

memorable day that we shared 

with many Elders from all over the 

province and the Yukon. 

The next day we visited the 



2021-12-14 11:01:15 AM

Kamloops Indian Residential 

School where we held a ceremony. 

Elders shared some of their 

stories and we drummed, sang 

songs and prayed for healing and 

closure. Thank you to Counsellor 

JoAnne Moise and Little Chiefs 

Primary School teacher, Louise 

Harry for joining us on this 

adventure. No matter what is 

going on, it is always a good day 

when it is spent with the Elders. 

Many of the Elders came together 

on September 30th for National 

Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

There was an amazing turn out, 

not just from the community but 

also from the City of Williams Lake. 

Hundreds of vehicles lined up at St 

Josephs Mission site and formed a 

convoy to the Arbor. What a day 

that was! It was so impressive to 

see all those people come out and 

take part on this first day of its 

kind. It was so uplifting to hear all 

different nations come together 

to sing and drum. The weather 

was beautiful for this celebration. 

Our next adventure took us to 

Mt. Polley Mine on October 6th 

for a tour of Hazeltine Creek. We 

were guided by Gabriel Holmes, 

an Environmental Tech. This was 

a shared tour with the Xatsull 

First Nation Elders. David Archie, 

WLFN’s Cultural Coordinator and 

Chief Sellars also attended the 

tour with us. Jia Zhang the NVIT 

intern also came with us and had 

the joy of riding in the back seat of 

our Elders Van. Gabe shared with 

us the area at which the breach 

happened, the damage that it 

caused and the reconciliation that 

has happened since. 

We were blessed to see a Lynx 

on the side of the road, spotted 

by Elder Estwelalnik Sandy. It 

was a beautiful sight. She also 

spotted one Balsam tree in a 

forest of spruce and fir trees. 

This Elder sure has an eagle eye. 

Estwelalnik was able to harvest 

some pitch and bark to make 

tea, which is good for the lungs. 

This was another wonderful day 

spent with Knowledge Keepers 

from both bands. We ended this 

day by coming back to the Band 

office and Elders Millie Emile and 

Linda Narcisse were kind enough 

to drum for the Open House. 

We have continued to have our 

biweekly meetings and for the 

first time since June, have had 

a fundraiser bingo. In order 

to raise funds for some of our 

trips and adventures we also 

created two harvest baskets, 

consisting of medicines, canning 

and handmade items from the 

Elders. We were also able to 

host the 2021 Elders Christmas 

Bazaar which we had 20 vendors 

attend and sell their wares. We 

are looking forward to many more 

trips activities and adventures in 

2022. 



2021-12-14 11:01:16 AM

Staff 

Member 

Highlight: 

Brittany Zimmer 

Q: What is your role at WLFN & what are your 

job duties? 

A: My role here at WLFN as the Child and Youth 

Support Worker is to run the Youth Leadership 

Program for youth from ages 12-18. The YLP 

consists of various types of workshops, activities, 

and trips as well as opportunities for youth to 

obtain volunteer hours and work experience. In 

addition to running the YLP, I am also active in 

the After School Program for children 6-12. As 

the Child and Youth support Worker, I aim to 

build meaningful relationships with the children 

and youth within this community and ultimately 

be a support pillar for them. 

Q: What does a regular workday look like for 

you? 

A: My days normally vary, however with the 

YLP as a registered program there are certain 

days each week that remain consistent. On 

Wednesdays I teach a cooking class to the youth, 

on Thursdays there is yoga for Mental health 

offered, and Fridays are a day for the youth to 

utilize the gym however they wish. In addition, 

other workshops and classes are held, as well 

as trips. My mornings usually consist of emails, 

meetings, program shopping and planning the 

calendar for the YLP. 

Q: What is the best part of your job? 

A: The best part of my job is being able to create 

meaningful relationships with the children and 

youth and to be able to provide consistent 

support while doing fun activities and crafts with 

them. 

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your 

job? 

A: I would have to say, the most challenging part of 

my job is keeping socks on children’s feet. 

Q: Do you have any memorable stories from your 

time working here? 

A: The Family Halloween Event was a memorable 

moment for me. Watching the children and youth 

along with their families laugh, dance, and have a 

wonderful evening was very rewarding and as my 

first event working here at WLFN, it will always be a 

special moment for me. 

Q: Where is your favorite place that you’ve visited? 

A: My favourite place that I have visited would be 

Cuba. 

Q: What’s the one thing you can’t live without? 

A: I cannot live without my family and friends. 

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of work? 

A: When I am not working, I enjoy being outdoors 

with my friends and dog doing things like quadding 

and camping. 

Q: Do you have any New Years Resolutions? 

A: My resolution for the New Year is to spend more 

time reading instead of watching Netflix. 

Q: Do you have a message for the community? 

A: I would like to say thank you to the Sugar Cane 

community for welcoming me. I have felt nothing 

but positivity and warmth from the employees at 

WLFN as well as the community members and my 

time here has already been memorable. 



2021-12-14 11:01:16 AM

Staff Birthdays 

and Anniversaries 

Gailene William 

9th Anniversary & Happy Birthday 

Mavis Skerry 

3rd Anniversary 

Gina Gill 

1st Anniversary 

Jordan Davis 


Mimi Sellars 


Deveny Kohlen 

2nd Anniversary 

David Archie 

2nd Anniversary 

Christopher Wycotte 


Silver Supernault 

Happy Birthday! 

Anthony Sellars 


Shawna Philbrick 




2021-12-14 11:01:17 AM



2021-12-14 11:01:17 AM

St. Joseph Mission 

Investigation Updates 

On December 7, 2021, Chief and 

Council of the Williams Lake First 

Nation issued a press release 

announcing the postponement 

of the release of the preliminary 

geophysical results from Phase 

1 of the St. Joseph’s Mission 

investigation. 

“After engagement with St. Joseph’s 

Mission survivors, our members, 

and other communities we had 

initially concluded that it would 

be best to make full disclosure of 

our results immediately after we 

received them,” states WLFN Chief, 

Willie Sellars. “However, since we 

made our announcement that 

there would be a public session 

to reveal the results on December 

10, a number of communities 

have come forward and made it 

clear that they do not have the 

necessary health and wellness 

supports in place to address any 

issues that might arise from the 

release of these results. It has also 

become clear that people around 

the province are still struggling 

in response to recent natural 

disasters and we wish to avoid 

causing people affected by these 

disasters any additional stress or 

suffering. For these reasons we 

are persuaded to delay the public 

release of the results until the 

New Year.” 

The revised date for the release 

of the preliminary geophysical 

results has been tentatively set 

for Tuesday, January 25, 2022. 

Additional details regarding the 

time and venue for that meeting 

will be forthcoming in January. 

On Monday, December 6th, 

Canada’s Crown-Indigenous 

Relations Minister Marc 

Miller stated that the federal 

government will soon release 

some of the residential school 

records that have been withheld 

from the National Centre for 

Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR). 

The Centre called the decision a 

“significant moment” for survivors 

and Canada and the SJM team 

could not agree more with this 

statement. The SJM team is 

eager to receive these records as 

they pertain to government and 

Catholic Church documents. The 

SJM team believes that this is a 

major step towards accountability 

from the federal government. 

The SJM team had a virtual meeting 

with the Ministry of Indigenous 

Relations and Reconciliation 

and the BC RCMP on Tuesday, 

December 14th to discuss roles 

and responsibilities throughout 

the SJM investigation and best 

practices for moving forward. 



2021-12-14 11:01:18 AM

JANUARY 

2022 

New Year’s Day 

Council Meeting 

Council Meeting 

St. Joseph’s Mission 

Investigation 

Announcement 

Stay up to date on all of our events by following our 

Facebook page: Williams Lake First Nation 



2021-12-14 11:01:21 AM

Boo Maga January 2022

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