Rotary Club of Oak Bay Meeting 26 January 2016 - Mark Salter, Tour Coordinator of the Songhees Nation Wellness Centre

Reporter: Tav Macpherson

Opening the meeting promptly at 12:15 p.m., President Heather Aked reminded us of the significance of Vocation Month.  She told us that there are many diverse vocations represented amongst the club’s membership.  However, there are many members who are not represented and this gives us a good reason to go out and attempt to attract new members.  Diversity of vocation creates a more interesting and dynamic club.

After the National Anthem was sung by all in attendance, Barry Mutter delivered the blessing before we enjoyed another delicious meal.

Guests:

Jack Petrie welcomed the following as our guests.  Visiting Rotarians included Kathy Nelson (Port McNeil), Frank Elman (Sydney, NS) and Tom Kofin (Edmonton South) as well as Rotaractors, Riley Strother and Sophie Gloy.  Guests of members were Colleen Force, Linda Cook and Mark Salter, today’s speaker.

Surprise Surprise!  

President Heather presided over a birthday party for one year old Garon.  Proud father, Ryan, brought the excited youngster up to sit on the stage, while Janna with equal pride, snapped photos.  Garon’s eyes were wide open and he expressed his excitement with his gifts with a big grin and the odd chortle of joy. 

The attendees sang “Happy Birthday”.  Joan Firkins presented Garon with a Paul Harris Fellowship.

Is he the youngest Paul Harris Fellow in the world?  The wonderful chocolate birthday cake was enjoyed by all. 

Happy Birthday Garon!

50/50:

Lorna Curtis once again got her hands on everyone’s wallets.  There were diverse fines for many misdemeanors.  Also recognizing that Robbie Burns Day was on Monday, Lorna went table by table quizzing everyone with trivia questions about the bard.  She found the members well educated and almost all the questions were answered without hesitation.  There were just a few happy and sad dollars and Jack Petrie was noted for his twelfth anniversary as a club member.  Brian Lamb won the draw.

Announcements: 

• Healther Aked:  DLTA is to be held on April 1-3, 2016 here in Victoria.  No excuses not to attend.
• Jim Force:  Thursday is the club’s 75^th Club in a Pub.
• President Heather invited Anne McIntyre to the podium and awarded her the honour of “Rotarian of the Month”.  Anne is a wonderful Rotarian, a hard worker with a ready smile.  She is the Director of Disaster Aid Canada in Victoria and runs it very effectively.  A well-deserved award, Anne!

Guest Speaker:

Eugen Bannerman introduced our guest speaker, Mark Salter, Tour Coordinator of the Songhees Nation Wellness Centre.  Mark is a graduate of Ryerson. Mark is a trained organic master gardener and is also a certified diver,  and lives aboard his 33 foot Hans Christian yacht.

Mark showed us a number of photographs of the Songhees Nations Wellness Centre.  This was the result of an eight year project which opened in 2014.  The three floors combine over 55,000 square feet containing education and administration services, a wellness centre, a basketball court and a fitness centre.

Outside are a series of totem poles carved by Butch Dick and other artists.  The Gift Gallery inside the main doors is a fair trade facility paying cash rather than taking artist’s works on consignment.  Their aim is to encourage artists to operate as successful business entities, as well as supporting their creative talents.

Mark went on to explain the close relationship with the Municipality of Oak Bay, which is located on former Lekwungen territories.  Willows Beach was considered a warm site as it faced the rising sun.  Excavations have suggested that there was a village situated here as far back as 2,600 years ago.  A treaties map illustrated the sites occupied by the different families that formed the Lekwungen family groupings.

There were also a number of photographs of cultural events and ceremonies.  One such photo shows the Chief with traditional dancers on the beach.  The dancers are flourishing under their current leader and have increased participation from three to 23 over the last 18 months.  Mark told us of Joan Morris, an elder who has been very involved with cultural tours in and around Oak Bay.  She had retreated with her family to live on Chatham Island in 1957 to avoid her children being removed and taken to a residential school.

Discovery and Chatham Islands are considered sacred territories and the public is not to trespass on these lands.  There are a number of burial cairns located there.  The islands are a treasure and the Songhees people want to keep them safe and clean.  The presence of a lone wolf is a noteworthy anomaly.  He is a coastal sea wolf and the nearest wolf pack is in the Cowichan area.  He is thriving and a photograph showed a strong, healthy animal.

Mark’s comments were well received and for those who would like to visit the Songhees Nations Centre, it is at 1100 Admirals Rd. Victoria. Mark is the first point of contact: telephone 250 3861043. He kindly left copies of the Songhees Nations 2015 Annual Report for our perusal.  It is a well presented and colourful document and describes the programs, services and performance of the past year. For photos and information pending a website click here.

Tom Croft thanked Mark Salter for his excellent presentation and noted that Mark is a great source of historical knowledge and information as well as a great resource for correct protocols.