Liam and his friends explored the giant basket of Kalkalih (Wild Woman of the Woods).
A Whistler Tale
Written by, Liam McAdam, Grade 7, Hollyburn Elementary
The trip to Whistler was very fun and the food was delicious. We crowded onto a bus at eight o’ clock in the morning to go to the Squamish Lil’wat Interpretive Center. The drive was about two hours to the museum and our adult, Bob Baker (S7aplek), sang us songs and told us stories about the land. He told us that there was a bear nearby. But sadly we did not see the bear. We got into the museum and the tour started with dancing. The Chief Jimmy Jimmy song was performed and all of the kids there were split into three groups. They had to dance like eagles, wolves or killer whales. I danced as an eagle and stretched out my arms and soared.
After the music and dancing we went to see a fifteen-minute movie about how the First Peoples got their cedar wood and salmon. I learned about smoking salmon. I also learned about stripping cedar bark for hats, baskets, clothes and supplies.
Soon after the movie we did the tour of the museum. There was a fabulous bear and mountain goat covered in gems and beads to show how beautiful they are. I learned a few things about residential schools like the map of the school, children, and teachers. I was inspired to let people know about residential schools because we civilians should know about it and be ready for it incase it ever happens again in another country.
When we were done we went upstairs and did some crafts. We weaved wristbands made from red cedar wood. We also made necklaces with wooden paddles with the eye of the creator on them.
After that we went into the long house and looked around. It had the great smell of old cedar wood. We saw some animal carpets and just for fun we named one of them Dave the Cougar. There was also a black bear hide next to a second cougar. Then we ate some bacon soup and bannock. The soup was creamy and it had celery, carrots, seasoning and dill. At the end of the trip we went home exhausted but packed with knowledge.
I would recommend definitely going to the Squamish Lil’wat Interpretive Center because it is good to know about the culture, it is fun to make crafts to take home and the food is excellent.