Indigenous Women on the Front Lines Speak
Christine Jack, a spiritual leader among the St’at’imc people, gives an
update from Ulluisc where she has been living on the land protecting the
territory from further industrial devastation.
facebook.com/reoccupationofjunctioncreek/
voicesbook.tumblr.com/
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/christine-jack-a-spiritual-leader-among-the/
“I feel in awe as to the tremendous life
that I get to be among because we quite honestly forget that a tree has a
life, that a piece of grass, that a dandelion, that the kinnikinnick is just so
alive. Being a caretaker is creating a system for me to actually coexist with
them.”
-Christine Jack, Ulluisc 2016
Christine
Jack is a two-spirit St’at’imc life-giver and spiritual leader. In March of 2015 she was asked by her Elders
to protect a place called Ulluisc. Since that moment, Christine became caretaker
and made Ulluisc her permanent home. Ulluisc,
“a place for the people to gather”,
is high in the mountains nestled in the Yalakom Valley and is an ancestral
village site where the St’at’imc, Tsilcotin and Secwemc people came
together. The forests, creeks, and
mountains of Ulluisc are a place where medicine grows, where the pines stand
next to the cotton woods and shade the alders; where bears raise their cubs,
deer find their shelter and eagles build their nests. The last time there was clear cutting in
Ulluisc was 2015 the logging company responsible, intended to continue
cutting through 2016 and beyond. Christine Jack has halted their progress, and
as long as she remains it will never happen again.
For more information about Christine and Ulluisc go to the voice for the voiceless fb page and check out our Update.
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/i-feel-in-awe-as-to-the-tremendous-life-that-i/
“The deer is important to me because I’m
a hunter. It has become a really
powerful, powerful medicine for me.”
“The Elders
asked me then if I had time to put aside to do this stand here for the village,
the old village our ancestral village as well as for the animals out here because
the logging is tremendously huge in our valleys.”
-Christine Jack, Ulluisc 2016
Christine
Jack is a two-spirit St’at’imc life-giver and spiritual leader. In March of 2015 she was asked by her Elders
to protect a place called Ulluisc. Since that moment, Christine became caretaker
and made Ulluisc her permanent home. Ulluisc,
“a place for the people to gather”,
is high in the mountains nestled in the Yalakom Valley and is an ancestral
village site where the St’at’imc, Tsilcotin and Secwemc people came
together. The forests, creeks, and
mountains of Ulluisc are a place where medicine grows, where the pines stand
next to the cotton woods and shade the alders; where bears raise their cubs,
deer find their shelter and eagles build their nests. The last time there was clear cutting in
Ulluisc was 2015 the logging company responsible, intended to continue
cutting through 2016 and beyond. Christine Jack has halted their progress, and
as long as she remains it will never happen again.
For more information about Christine and Ulluisc go to the voice for the voiceless fb page and check out our Update.
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/the-deer-is-important-to-me-because-im-a-hunter/
“Our people have been pulled away from
their natural place. Pulled into a place so deep, generations deep now that
they don’t understand what it’s really going to take to return”
“I hope that people find that they are
worth healing.”
-Christine Jack, Ulluisc 2016
Christine
Jack is a two-spirit St’at’imc life-giver and spiritual leader. In March of 2015 she was asked by her Elders
to protect a place called Ulluisc. Since that moment, Christine became caretaker
and made Ulluisc her permanent home. Ulluisc,
“a place for the people to gather”,
is high in the mountains nestled in the Yalakom Valley and is an ancestral
village site where the St’at’imc, Tsilcotin and Secwemc people came
together. The forests, creeks, and
mountains of Ulluisc are a place where medicine grows, where the pines stand
next to the cotton woods and shade the alders; where bears raise their cubs,
deer find their shelter and eagles build their nests. The last time there was clear cutting in
Ulluisc was 2015 the logging company responsible, intended to continue
cutting through 2016 and beyond. Christine Jack has halted their progress, and
as long as she remains it will never happen again.
For more information about Christine and Ulluisc go to the voice for the voiceless fb page and check out our Update.
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/our-people-have-been-pulled-away-from-their/
“Oh the mountains, they are just like
the walls to my home.”
“I want my grandchildren to only know
the grandma that lives on the mountain.
That’s a beautiful thing”
“I want to be able to heal the people so
our generations get all the wonderful support and medicine from each other and
we’ll thrive again.”
-Christine Jack, Ulluisc 2016
Christine
Jack is a two-spirit St’at’imc life-giver and spiritual leader. In March of 2015 she was asked by her Elders
to protect a place called Ulluisc. Since that moment, Christine became caretaker
and made Ulluisc her permanent home. Ulluisc,
“a place for the people to gather”,
is high in the mountains nestled in the Yalakom Valley and is an ancestral
village site where the St’at’imc, Tsilcotin and Secwemc people came
together. The forests, creeks, and
mountains of Ulluisc are a place where medicine grows, where the pines stand
next to the cotton woods and shade the alders; where bears raise their cubs,
deer find their shelter and eagles build their nests. The last time there was clear cutting in
Ulluisc was 2015 the logging company responsible, intended to continue
cutting through 2016 and beyond. Christine Jack has halted their progress, and
as long as she remains it will never happen again.
For more information about Christine and Ulluisc go to the voice for the voiceless fb page and check out our Update.
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/oh-the-mountains-they-are-just-like-the-walls-to/
“The tree is like our brothers and
sisters they are the standing ones. You
know, they have witnessed far more than we have”
“They don’t interfere with one another
they find a way to exist among each other.”
“Both are just trying to reach the
sun. They are trying to have that
relationship with the elements around them”
-Christine Jack, Ulluisc 2016
Christine
Jack is a two-spirit St’at’imc life-giver and spiritual leader. In March of 2015 she was asked by her Elders
to protect a place called Ulluisc. Since that moment, Christine became caretaker
and made Ulluisc her permanent home. Ulluisc,
“a place for the people to gather”,
is high in the mountains nestled in the Yalakom Valley and is an ancestral
village site where the St’at’imc, Tsilcotin and Secwemc people came
together. The forests, creeks, and
mountains of Ulluisc are a place where medicine grows, where the pines stand
next to the cotton woods and shade the alders; where bears raise their cubs,
deer find their shelter and eagles build their nests. The last time there was clear cutting in
Ulluisc was 2015 the logging company responsible, intended to continue
cutting through 2016 and beyond. Christine Jack has halted their progress, and
as long as she remains it will never happen again.
For more information about Christine and Ulluisc go to the voice for the voiceless fb page and check out our Update.
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/the-tree-is-like-our-brothers-and-sisters-they/
GOODMORNING!
Today we post the first of many progress updates related to this project. we hope that you will follow us downstream though each bend as we move forward and between places and collect these stories and images. In these updates we’ll let you know where we’ve been and provide information and requests from the Land Defenders who we’ve been working with.
Love wulfgang and beyon.
On the 7th of May I travelled by bus and thumb through the Coastal Mountains to Ulluisc (Ooloosh), part of Xwisten territory, St’at’imc nation. Once at Ulluisc I had the pleasure to sit quiet among the Pines, Poplars and Cotton Woods with the sound of the river and winds around me. We harvested wild onions, t’seweta, arnica and pine tips, smoked and canned a deer hunted by Christine and Badger, and built additions to the outdoor kitchen and storage areas.
The earth was warm and the kinnikinnick we sat upon full of life as Christine and I spoke about her path, healing work and hopes for the land and decolonization. This conversation is the first of many, which will make up the content for the book beyon and I will hand make this fall.
For a year and two months Two Spirit Spiritual Leader Christine Jack has been living at Ulluisc as caretaker of the territory at the request of her Elders. Ulluisc is the ucwalmicw (people of the land) name and means, “a place for the people to gather.” It was given this name, as it was a village site, meeting place and trading grounds for the Secwepemc, Tsilhqot’in and St’át’imc people. Logging company Aspen Planers was attempting to enter the territory to clear-cut even more of the forests than they have already gotten their hands on and they built a road directly over an ishtkin site. Christine, her children and her supporters have put an end to the destruction of Ulluisc so that the people and the land may heal.
This June Christine and the Elders plan to build an ishtkin (pit house) at Ulluisc, which will become Christine’s home as she follows her path on the land until the end of her days. Supporters are needed for this endeavor and are welcome. In addition Christine would like to invite spiritual people to seek her out and visit her at Ulluisc.
You can learn more about Ulluisc here:
https://www.facebook.com/reoccupationofjunctioncreek/
And if you want to learn more about the St’at’imc people the documentary “Spirit of the People” is a really wonderful documentary and you can watch a short excerpt here: https://youtu.be/tSFvqGWf_7o
If you are heading out to Ulluisc it is important to be mindful of how you are on the land and to be respectful as a guest there. This means taking nothing without consent and ensuring nothing you packed in is left behind. Bringing foodstuffs (particularly fresh fruit and veggies and if you have any food allergies- appropriate food for yourself) is a good idea and the weather can change rapidly in the mountains so prepare for the wet, the hot and the cool. There is no alcohol or violence tolerated at Ulluisc. Be prepared to work in reciprocity for all you will gain joining Christine in her work on the land, as there are many tasks to keep the camp running and everyone comfortable. Lastly, my advice is to listen and allow yourself to be open for we all have so much to gain and learn from one another.
To get to Ulluisc: Stay on the Yalakom road following the yellow kilometer markers go past the Ore Creek Campsite, go past the yellow 44km marker, go past the turn off to Lac la Mare (stay on the road that goes along the river), keep staying on the Yalakom road until just past the 50 km mark.
As far as accessibility goes the ground is rocky and uneven in places and structures around the camp are not accessible by wheelchair. There is a ramp up to the cabin, but I do not believe it is not wide enough for wheelchairs. There is an outhouse to relieve oneself. Dogs are welcome however it is integral that their human companions be responsible for them at all times! If people have questions feel free to contact us through our queries page.
To make monetary donations cheques can be mailed to PO Box 1188 Lillooet BC V0K 1V0.
Here are some suggestions for things helpful to Ulluisc:
Any meat, fish or produce you have preserved yourself either canned, smoked or dried <3
Any medicines (teas, tinctures, salves) you have made yourself (please include info. on ingredients and use)
Sunflower Oil
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Coffee
Dried Fruit
Nuts/Trail mix
Oats
Honey
Chocolate
Brown Sugar
Hot Cocoa
Almond milk
*Large Rubber-made containers with secure lids.
First Aid supplies
Batteries
Seeds for edible plants
xo Wulfgang
ox beyon
https://www.voicesfrontlines.com/goodmorning-today-we-post-the-first-of-many/