Ditidaht First Nation played host to their southern region neighbors as they wound summer down with a Family Fun Day event.
Held in the village at the edge of Nitinaht Lake, the people and their invited guests started things off with a sleep-over ‘camp’ at the community hall.
Hupacasath children and their chaperones arrived Aug. 27 and sat down with their hosts to a meal of chili and spaghetti.
They spent the evening playing lahal late into the night. According to newly-hired Social Development worker Allison Howard, the kids had fun learning how to play lahal. For some, it was their first time to see and play the cultural guessing game.
There was a sleepover at the community hall then everyone gathered for breakfast served by the hosts.
The children spent the morning playing fun games like relay races, which included water balloons and bobbing for apples.
There was a scavenger hunt with a Ditidaht language twist. The children were divided into teams and each team was given a task sheet.
The task sheet directed the teams to find certain people to ask them things like where Dic’ and Qali is (places in the community) or to ask certain people their native name.
The game involved the entire community, including the elders, and fun was had by all.
The first team to complete all 12 tasks was the winner.
After a hotdog lunch, the kids wound down the day with indoor carnival games.
Ruby Ambrose, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Teechuktl (Mental Health) Southern Region Coordinator, helped plan the event. She said that many communities host family fun days during the summer and it’s been happening for the past few years.
The idea, she said, is to get extended families out and interacting in a fun, active way. It is also a great way to pass on cultural teachings from the elders to the younger generation.
Ambrose networked with Ditidaht staff Allison Howard and newly-hired recreation worker Steve Howard to pull the event together.
Hupacasath First Nation hosted a similar event a few weeks earlier and took their Ditidaht guests to Stamp Falls to see the salmon journey upstream and to a local favorite hiking spot called The Hole in the Wall.
