New Video on Tsleil-Waututh’s Sacred Trust Initiative
Tsleil-Waututh views of the Sacred Trust Initiative
Christina Coolidge (Tsleil-Waututh) made this video for her studies as a graduate student in the department of Communications at SFU. She writes extensively about her research on the Sacred Trust, with these closing comments:
“This journey of discovery is not complete. The Sacred Trust Initiative has a long road ahead of them. The road will be fraught with difficulties, challenges, successes, and sacrifice, but it is one that the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the Sacred Trust feel compelled to travel as their sacred obligation. My brief look into the many layers of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation as innovators, collaborators and protectors has sparked a fire to know more, do more and be more for the benefit of all First Nation people of Turtle Island. That is my sacred obligation and I will continue my work with the Sacred Trust in any way I am able.
Being a part of a community with such a rich history of survival and resilience is as close to magic as one could ever hope to find themselves. It is their relationship with the land, air and waters; it is their relationship with the creatures that run, the creatures that soar and the creatures that swim; it is the relationship between the people and their community; it is the relationship the people have with themselves and especially their relationship with Creator. It is all interwoven and one cannot exist without the other. This is their sacred obligation to protect for us all.”
Christina Coolidge is currently attending SFU as a graduate student in the department of Communications. She is the Indigenous Program Researcher with the Career Services department. Christina is a member of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation and her matrilineal ancestry includes Metis (Cree and Scottish) from the Red River area. She hopes to help build a bridge between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities in order to better understand one another and to live together in a spirit of unity.