Ditidaht families wandered down to the community field on a balmy July 3 to take part in a sports day and a barbecue lunch.
Gathering on the freshly cut grass, about 30 kids spent the better part of the summer day running free and playing fun games like egg toss, tug-o-war, three-legged-race and a classic water balloon fight.
“There was a really good turnout, kind of a slow start, but eventually throughout the day, people started showing up more and more,” said Ditidaht’s cultural support worker Samantha Edgar, who was wearing her black dašuk (strong) girls’ basketball team hoodie.
Sports day was part of Ditidaht Days, an early July four-day celebration of Ditidaht culture that unites families and friends over meals and quality time outdoors.
Ditidaht is a remote First Nations community on the southwest of Vancouver Island. Its traditional territory stretches inland from Cowichan Lake, down through Nitinat Lake and to the coast between Bonilla Point and Pachena Point. The main access to Ditidaht’s largest village of about 200 members is a deteriorating gravel logging road.
Last year during Ditidaht Days, members were treated to helicopter rides to view the full scale of their territory from above. This year, they went out on early morning boat tours to learn about their territory from the water.
“It’s for our future. For the young ones to see and witness,” said culture leader Bobby Durocher, who splits his time between Coquitlam and Ditidaht traditional territory.
Elder Mary Durocher has 20 grandchildren; eight of them participated in the Ditidaht sports day.
“It brought back memories. For two of my grandchildren, it’s their first time visiting. Their father is my youngest son, but their mom is from Skatin and Yakama. They were going to leave today, but they changed their mind and they are staying the whole time,” said Mary.
Skatin Nations (Skookumchuck) is located in the Mount Currie area of B.C. and Yakama Nation is based in Washington state, U.S.A.
When it came to organizing and hosting the annual Ditidaht Days sports day, Edgar says she was thankful for the support of Melanie Thomas and Yvonne Douglas.
“My boss is talking about wanting (sports days) to be more than one day, maybe two or three days. Everyone will come together and figure things out,” she shared.
Ditidaht members also took advantage of free haircuts by Myra Mack over the weekend at the main hall.
