At NIȽ TU,O Child and Family Services Society, cultural connection is an important component of what we do. Our Culture Nights are a key part of this, teaching self-care from a culturally safe perspective. Culture Nights are offered ongoingly, twice a month on Wednesday evenings, allowing community members to use creativity and crafts for self-care while incorporating traditional languages. 

Over the past year, we offered Culture Nights at NIȽ TU,O’s offices, and some culture workshops in community, providing children and families from SC’IȺNEW̱, Pauquachin, Tsartlip, Songhees, Tsawout, Tseycum, and T’Sou-ke with a unique opportunity to connect with culture, community, and one another. 

What Happens at Culture Nights?

Culture Nights help community members practice self-care and cultural connection through a series of fun and engaging activities. Each week brings a new activity. 

Every Culture Night begins with a shared dinner. During this time, community members share stories, laughter, and anticipation for the coming activities. Weeks generally rotate between Craft Night and Language Night. All of this is community-led, with community members sharing goals or interests in certain activities that inform upcoming workshops. 

Craft Nights offer more than typical crafting; they’re an opportunity to explore all aspects of creativity. The past year saw a traditional medicine workshop, a paint night, and a rawhide rattle workshop. Community members also learned traditional stick games!

Language nights aim to teach traditional languages in an engaging and connected way for all ages. This year, SENĆOŦEN Bingo and Hul’q’umi’num Bingo became nights filled with fun and invaluable lessons for the whole family. Check for upcoming events on our website!

Culture Programs

This year, the NIȽ TU,O team visited communities when cultural activities were requested. Our team visited T’Sou-ke community to create traditional shawls, loom-woven small blankets, and ribbon skirts. In Tsartlip, we also used small looms to weave small, cozy blankets. 

At NIȽ TU,O, engaging meaningfully with the communities we serve is vital. Our Culture Nights and programs help us foster connection while equipping community members with self-care skills and knowledge of traditional languages. 

Why Culture Nights Matter

Revitalizing our culture and languages is so important. Through our Culture Night workshops, we’ve found a material way to achieve this while nurturing community connections. NIȽ TU,O is proud to offer this opportunity to the communities we serve.

Keep an eye out for Culture Night sessions coming up in December and the upcoming year. We look forward to seeing you there!