Anchored To All That Is Good

I felt a hand grab the back of my left arm, and as I turned around my paternal grandfather Joe David reached into a shoulder bag and showed me a beautifully carved silver bracelet created by my late paternal uncle, Art Thompson. Engraved on it are two Thunderbirds each facing outward at the edge of a cusp and in the middle is a whale caught in their talons. It’s a stunning work of intricacy and beauty. He told me that he had a master silversmith reinforce the back of the bracelet. He said, “Like your chieftainship, it’s unbreakable.” He handed it to me and said that it is mine now. The provenance of this treasure is now my duty to remember. My grandfather Joe David — Kakawiinchiilth received this bracelet from my uncle, Ron Hamilton — Haayuups, who received it from my late uncle, Art Thompson — Tsaqwasuup. Holding back my tears I hugged my Grandpa Joe and told him that I will treasure this gift and his profound generosity. He embraced me tightly and said, “I love you son.”

What stays with me is that this generous act of love was done out-of-sight and was only between the two of us. The moment was fleeting and filled with a depth of love, significance and respect that will forever be a core memory for me, and I hope for my Grandpa Joe as well. I’ve reflected on this moment about the importance and strength of who I am and where I come from, and the responsibilities I have as a seated and recognized Čaabať — Hereditary Chief in my family and community. There’s an abundance of meaning and purpose in carrying yourself in a manner that is an equal measure of dignity and humility. You can be generous without being pretentious, thoughtful without being shallow, kind without being petty, and dutiful without being arrogant. My Grandpa Joe taught me an important lesson and I will strive to always carry myself in this way.

On a warm sunny day in July of this year at the new Tsow-tun Le Lum (Helping House) on Cowichan Tribes territory my dad, Charlie Thompson, handed over his chieftainship to me along with the name that he carried — Bookwilla, and he also put the name Suhiltun on me, a name that he received from my late paternal Great-Grandfather, Elwood Modeste. Bookwilla is a chiefly name coming from a line of chiefs from diitiidʔaaʔtx̣ – Ditidaht, and Suhiltun is a chiefly name coming from a line of chiefs from Cowichan Tribes — Coast Salish. Both of these chiefly names bear the responsibility to carry forward all of the dignity, perseverance and generosity of all those that once carried these important titles and used them to ensure the wellness and prosperity of all.

I was in a meeting recently with a relative of mine, Robert Joseph, and we were talking about how rapid our Nuuchahnulth culture is changing. He expressed with a sharp anxiety that unless we make a deliberate effort to enact our ways in the same way our people of the past once did with discipline and certainty, then we stand to lose the very foundation of the principles that make Nuuchahnulth people revered for their generosity and dignity. We talked about how our Nuuchahnulth potlatches today are absent of the order and regard that once influenced our people to perpetuate discipline, respect, generosity, humility and belief. We also talked about how today almost anyone from our communities are using time-honoured songs, names, dances and material culture that belong exclusively to our Čaabať — Hereditary Chiefs. We talked for a long time about how we were taught as children and as young men to always be ready, to always be careful, to always be providing, and to always do things properly. We talked with sadness in our voice that our Čaabať, our chiefs, our hereditary chiefs, our leadership are but a remnant of a great and mighty people who were once highly organized, and that there was no opportunity for individual arrogance, greed and deceit.

Like my Grandpa Joe — Kakawiinchiilth, I will persevere in a spirit of generosity anchored to all that is good, proper and right. I will always aim to be generous of mind, heart and character and to treat people in my life with a consideration of love, care and mindfulness. I will cherish my names — Bookwilla and Suhiltun — and evoke their deep and ancestral origins to inspire people to a greater sense of who we are and where we come from.