Community and culture
Homewood Health acknowledges with respect the WSÁNEĆ people on whose territory Homewood Ravensview is privileged to reside upon and recognizes that their historical relationships with the land continues to this day.
Strength in community
Ravensview is honoured to walk alongside local W̱SÁNEĆ communities and take part in the centuries-old, local, traditional ways of healing and reclamation that flows through the culturally sacred lands of LÁU,WELNEW.
We are committed to respecting these lands, working with the local Nations to promote their cultural heritage, and upholding their significance as a place of refuge and healing.
Partnering with the W̱SÁNEĆ
From its earliest inception, Ravensview was shaped by a close partnership with local First Nations communities, including the BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin), SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout), WJOLELP (Tsartlip), and WSIKEM (Tseycum) Nations.
Before Ravensview was opened, in close consultation with the local nations, there was a vision to include archeologists and knowledge keepers to walk this sacred mountain and find ways to honour and protect this healing place and acknowledge and respect the W̱SÁNEĆ nations.
Supporting cultural connection
Ravensview is committed to working with the W̱SÁNEĆ to honour and uphold local cultural knowledge-holders and traditional ways of being, making every effort to provide culturally competent care to those who seek healing here.
A Cultural Knowledge Keeper is available to discuss ideas and lessons from the First Nations culture of the Coast Salish people and deliver cultural programming with clients, such as cedar-weaving, beading, and drum-making, that offer an Indigenous lens onto mindfulness and help to strengthen the spirit.
Like a cedar tree, which can have two trunks and interconnected roots, the Cultural Liaison and the Knowledge Keeper walk together with community members and Ravensview team members alike, building bridges in the spirit of culturally competent care.
A place of refuge
LÁU,WELNEW has been sacred to the WSÁNEĆ for thousands of years. According to the story passed down by local elders, a Great Flood over 10,000 years ago drove the ancestors to seek refuge at the top of the highest mountain, where they tied their canoes to an Arbutus tree.
After many days, a raven arrived and brought a symbol of hope – a twig – to the stranded people, showing that the flood had ended. Before they left the mountain, the ancestors gathered to give thanks. They named the mountain LÁU,WELNEW (meaning ‘place of refuge’) and named themselves WSÁNEĆ (the ’emerging people’).
A new chapter
For thousands of years, and to this day, LÁU,WELNEW continues to be a place of refuge, recovery, and wellness.
From the healing medicines of the salal, cedar, and spruce that grow here to the inspiring ocean and mountain views, to the traditional healing spaces that still exist here, the mountain is a powerful, healing and sacred place.
In alignment with the history and ongoing significance of this place, we are honoured to be a part of healing and wellness, for people of all walks of life. A recent Ravensview alumni, describing his inpatient experience, said, “Long ago, this sacred mountain saved many people from a flood. Now…today it has saved one more.”
This spirit of healing, of reconciliation, and of allyship guides Ravensview as the story continues to unfold. It is a journey we are honoured to continue to walk, with humility, openness and desire to learn from, and alongside the WSÁNEĆ people.
The meaning behind the logo
The Homewood Ravensview logo was designed by Chris Paul, a respected Tsartlip First Nation artist. The illustration is inspired by the Homewood Ravensview setting and references key elements of the story of the Great Flood including rising water, the mountain, and the raven.
The story of the land
The name Homewood Ravensview draws on the history of the mountain as a place of refuge, and we are committed to honouring this location and the community with our mission to help and bring hope to people in need.
The spirit of collaboration
In July of 2022, Homewood Health and the WSÁNEĆ Nations celebrated a new milestone by signing a collaboration agreement and raising four totem poles at Homewood Ravensview. This celebration formalizes the relationship between Homewood and the WSÁNEĆ Nations, which dates back to 2015 when the BOḰEĆEN (Pauquachin) First Nation collaborated on the early vision for Homewood Ravensview, and bringing a mental health and addictions healing centre out to the west coast.
This important agreement represents Homewood Health’s deep-seated commitment to collaborate with the WSÁNEĆ to continue to find ways to recognize, honour and uphold their heritage, provide education and employment opportunities, and deliver culturally appropriate mental health and addictions healing support. We acknowledge, this commitment is a work in progress for us, and a path we continue to walk with energy, creativity, compassion, and humility.
Photo caption: Elder May Sam, of the WJOLELP (Tsartlip) Nation, blessing the totem poles with cedar branches.
Homewood Health and the local Nations came together to commission the carving of four totem poles for the entrance to Ravensview, each carved by an artist representing one of the four First Nations (Pauquachin, Tsawout, Tsartlip, and Tseycum Nations).
This moving and impactful cultural event honoured, with respect, the traditional land, history and culture and deepened the relationship between the team at Ravensview and the Nations.
Homewood Health is honoured to join the WSÁNEĆ as humble stewards of ȽÁU,WELṈEW̱ and its sacred history, a story that lives on in Ravensview’s mission to be a place of refuge and healing for those in need.