About us
- Nawalakw means “Supernatural” in the Kwak̓wala language
Many pieces of Executive Director K’odi Nelson’s life had to come together for him to envision Nawalakw. One part of his journey was as an elementary school teacher teaching students their endangered language. K’odi would take kids out on the land, and within days they would learn more in an outdoor classroom than they would inside. In the summer, he worked as a wildlife guide and realized tourists who traveled in wanted to learn more about their culture and lifestyle. They also wanted multi-day trips instead of just one day. During a tour guide, K’odi witnessed first hand the effects of heli-logging at the mouth of their sacred river system called Hada and he knew there was a need to create a presence on their ancestral lands “for the sake of the river.” He saw a clear pathway to aligning all of his passions and began to meet people that could support the vision to bring Nawalakw to life — envisioning that the revenue through an ecotourism resort could go towards creating culture camps that would connect youth to Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw culture and language.
Nawalakw is working in three phases
Nawalakw is working in three phases
- In phase one, they have built a Culture Camp, hi’ma̱nis ḵ̓aḵ̓ut̓ła̱’at̓si, that provides culture and language programs. Nawalakw knows there is “something that is really special about on the land wellness and on the land teaching.” K’odi says that when they bring children and youth to camp they “seem to be growing 6 inches in five days in their confidence level.” The 2400 sq. ft solar-powered facility has capacity for 24 students, teachers, and support staff for year-round cultural and language revitalization programs.
- In phase two they will build a Healing Village and Sustainable Destination Development.
- In phase three they will build a Nawalakw Interpretive Center, a gallery and retail space.
K’odi says that “our speakers are leaving us at an alarming rate” and that “it’s a real urgent need for us.” Nawalakw has a full-time language program where early, emerging, and advanced language learners work together with fluent speakers to capture, learn, and develop programs that are shared at the language and culture camps year-round. The team at Nawalakw are developing a media program to train young people to record audio and video stories and language with speakers with hopes that this will be another step in what Nawalakw does to ensure the language continues and thrives for generations to come.
The award winning community garden is a gathering place filled with connection and healing. The food security team have developed a 2.5 acre plot of land in ’Ya̱lis and created a small-scale farm producing thousands of pounds of fresh produce each year that is distributed to the community through pop-up sales and giveaways and harvested for nourishment for visitors and participants at language and culture camps in Hada.
The Nawalakw office is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation. The Nawalakw language and culture camp, hi’ma̱nis ḵ̓aḵ̓ut̓ła̱’at̓si, is located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Ḵwiḵwa̱sut̓inux̱w people, one of the four tribes of the Musǥa̱makw Dzawada̱ʼenux̱w, part of the Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw Nation.
Mission + Vision + Values
Vision
To create a flourishing people infused with spirit and purpose, connected with our lands and living our language and culture.
Values
Maya’xa̱lap̓a | respect one another
Łaxwa̱lap̓a | love one another
Ga̱lg̱a̱poła | hold each other up
Gawalap̓a | help one another
Mission
To transform our people by awakening our spirits and restoring our power and presence on the land, our language, our culture, and our spiritual purpose.
