Background

A partnership with Whiteswan Environmental

The Institute for Multidisciplinary Ecological Research in the Salish Sea (IMERSS) is working in partnership with the Indigenous-led nonprofit Whiteswan Environmental (WE) to develop digital mapping tools supporting the visualization of ecocultural information and storytelling about natural, cultural, and historical sites in the Salish Sea.

The Spirit of the Sxwo’le (SOS) Coalition

To ensure appropriate cultural safety protocols are in place, WE has initiated the Spirit of the Sxwo’le (SOS) Coalition. Through this coalition, WE is collaborating with IMERSS and other Indigenous and non-Indigenous stakeholders to develop a cross-cultural community of practice based on protocols of respect and reciprocity, to restore traditional Indigenous practices and access to place, supporting thriving cultures and coastal ecosystems for future generations.

The coalition is organized as follows:

• The SOS Coalition Leadership Organization Team (LOT) is 100% Indigenous.
• SOS Coalition Content Working Groups (CWG) include Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and organizations who work on projects in common, such as biodiversity and ecocultural mapping.

IMERSS’ involvement in this coalition is facilitated through the leadership role of Jeannine Georgeson, an Indigenous member of the Galiano community and member of IMERSS who leads the Xetthecum project.

From Retreat Cove to the wider Salish Sea

Through this pilot project we aimed to develop preliminary tools and resources to facilitate the broader regional work of the SOS Coalition, beginning in the local context of Retreat Cove, Galiano Island, BC.

On the regional scale, members of the SOS Coalition intend to adapt the methodologies innovated through the Xetthecum pilot to support the longer term vision of a Coast Salish Tribal Heritage Field Institute: seven longhouses in the San Juan Islands and seven longhouses in the Gulf Islands.

Gratitude

We are grateful to the Access to Media Education Society, Capital Regional District, Community Engagement Fellows, Galiano Conservancy Association, Hunterston Farm community, Inclusive Design Research Centre, Indigenous Watersheds Initiative, Islands Trust Council, Southern Gulf Islands Community Resource Centre, MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellowship, Northeast Pacific Coastal Biodiversity Action Network, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, UBC BRITE Internship Program, and WE for making this work possible.

We also thank our advisors, contributors, partners, Galiano Island community members at xe’xe’tth’uqum, and especially the Elders who have contributed to this project to date.—huy ch q’a sii’em!