Members of the W̱SÁNEĆ community filmed an upcoming educational documentary about W̱SÁNEĆ
culture, told through the cycles of the W̱SÁNEĆ moons. The finished film will be made available on the
Live It Earth website, where it can be seen by Saanich students and learners from around BC. The
team arrived at the start of PEKELÁNEW (the moon that turns the leaves white) and began filming at
Goldstream, where Indigenous students from Brentwood, ḰELSET and Bayside fished for salmon. The
students were guided by Elders and other community members. The fish were taken back to Bayside,
where it was prepared and smoked in the onsite smokehouse.
A key component of the project is a student workshop. Four secondary students from Stelly’s picked
up cameras and shadowed the crew as they filmed Elders talking about traditional cultural practices,
such as reef net fishing, hunting, and longhouse, as well as how some of those practices still take place
today. Filming has taken place in all four communities. This work is funded by a grant received by the
Indigenous Education Department, and has been facilitated by teacher leader Darcy McNee, as well as
Indigenous Support Liaisons, Muriel Morris, Landon Underwood, and Ambrose Underwood. The
documentary is expected to be completed in the spring of 2025, around the time of SX̱ÁNEȽ (the
bullhead moon.)