Bella Bella, British Columbia (January 24, 2019) – The release of an audiovisual immersion into millenia-old Heiltsuk teachings and language is being celebrated with the opening of a Húy̓at exhibit and launch of a new interactive website this Friday (January 25). Media are welcome at the event starting at 11am at the Saywell Hall 10075 (main floor), SFU campus.
Húy̓at: Our Voices our Land (www.hauyat.ca) is an audiovisual tribute to Húy̓at (pronounced: hoy-ett), a 6,000 year old village site where Heiltsuk conduct important cultural work, including sharing traditions and language with their children. Through the blending of video, photos, personal testimony, oral traditions and an interactive map, users experience firsthand the inextricable connection between land and culture that has defined the Heiltsuk for over 14,000 years.
“Understanding is fundamental to the reconciliation process. Reconciliation with Heiltsuk or any of the nations up and down this coast means understanding what it means to be connected to the land,” says Heiltsuk Chief Councillor Marilyn Slett. “The Húy̓at website is dedicated to our children, community, and ancestors, but it is a resource for all seeking to better understand First Peoples’ culture and our connection to our homelands.”

Using the site, visitors can:

• practice the Heiltsuk language as they take a self-guided tour of the landscape;
• watch and listen to recordings of Elders and knowledge keepers recount Heiltsukstories, teachings, and cultural fundamentals;
• explore an in-depth timeline of Heiltsuk history and a parallel accounting ofobstacles to cultural learning faced by modern Heiltsuk; and
• hear Elders, knowledge keepers and others speak openly about their connection to Húy̓at.