Honouring culture and community through engagement: CMH Redevelopment sessions

Exploring how the Cariboo Memorial Hospital (CMH) Redevelopment Project can best honour and reflect the Indigenous communities it serves has been at the heart of a series of engagement sessions held over the last year.

Most recently, members in the close-knit Indigenous communities of Ulkatcho and Tsi Del Del shared their insights and traditional knowledge during engagement sessions with Interior Health representatives in April.

Photo left: Fannie Boyd, Sylvia, and June Lulua from Ulkatcho First Nation with facilitator Rebecca Britton.
Photo right: Engagement session with the Ulkatcho First Nation.

These in-person sessions were especially valuable, as many communities surrounding the Williams Lake First Nation territory regularly access care at CMH.

Following the meeting in Ulkatcho and Tsi Del Del, the week wrapped up in Williams Lake with a traditional smudging ceremony throughout three floors of the CMH Redevelopment site.

Photo left: Interior Health facilitator Rebecca Britton presented on the CMH Redevelopment Project to representatives from Tsi Del Del First Nation.
Photo right: Dora Grinder(from left), Marsha Guichon, and Marlene Kato from Tsi Del Del First Nation.

Engagement sessions for the project first began in September 2024, at Williams Lake First Nation, and at the All Nations Healing House, bringing together Elders and Nation representatives.

A central theme of discussion was the integration of traditional Indigenous artwork into the hospital’s design. Participants offered powerful ideas—such as incorporating pictographs of Elders who have passed into healing spaces, allowing visitors to pray to them for strength and guidance. Another suggestion envisioned moose tracks leading to the emergency room, providing a culturally meaningful path through the facility. However, one challenge identified was the need to find a local artist to create these animal symbols and pictographs, ensuring the art is grounded in community identity.

Participants also emphasized the importance of connecting the hospital’s healing space to an outdoor garden. Elders shared traditional knowledge on what should be planted—such as rosebuds, soopolallie berries, juniper, and other sacred medicines—highlighting the therapeutic and cultural value of these plants.

Language emerged as another vital component, with a shared priority to incorporate traditional languages throughout the hospital in a way that represents all surrounding Nations. Discussions began around choosing appropriate dialects and creating a sense of welcome and belonging through signage and naming. Ideas like “Healing Space” and “House of Care” began to shape what the hospital’s exterior could convey.

Photo caption: First Nation partners surrounding Williams Lake came together for a traditional ceremony of the new CMH Redevelopment construction site on April 4 to bring blessings and good medicine into the space.

In a particularly meaningful moment, Elders from the Healing Centre shared stories about the cultural significance of ribbon skirts and the importance of wearing them during ceremonies. As the engagement session coincided with a ribbon skirt sewing day, participants were also able to observe the craftsmanship and hear firsthand about the traditions embedded in these garments.

We are deeply grateful to all participants for their wisdom, creativity, and guidance. These engagement sessions continue to shape a hospital that is not only a place of care, but a space of cultural respect, healing, and connection for all Nations it serves.