The Centre of the Universe, Vidette Lake, BC - Part 2

Seven years after my first adventure to the Centre of the Universe, I had another opportunity to head out that way. 

I made a new friend when I moved back to Kamloops in 2014. Her name was Ashley and we had a lot in common: she was well travelled (and to a lot of the same places as me), and she loved the same kind of nerdy shit that I did,  granted she was the Dr. Who to my Buffy, but we met in the middle for Harry Potter so it all worked out. She worked for a social services agency just like I do now, and took a ton of the same classes I did at TRU. 

We were like peas and carrots immediately. 

One day, she phoned me up and asked what I was doing this coming weekend. I, as per usual since moving back to Kamloops and getting a real job, had no plans to speak of. 

"Do you want to go to a Sweat Lodge with me?"

The agency that she works for coordinates services for indigenous individuals and so she has made some connections to the first nations community there. One of these connections issued the invitation for her and one other to attend this Sweat Lodge. 

I was so honoured to be asked to join, and even though I was terrified of not belonging there, I immediately said yes. 

I am a white person - my heritage is Norwegian, Swedish, English, and French. I have been told that somewhere on my mother's side we could claim some Ojibway but we don't really have any way to prove it and it's never been part of my culture so I don't think I would want to claim it either. 

The relationship I have with indigenous people is very new. Where I grew up in the West Kootenays, there aren't a lot of First Nations people that live there. Because of this, I didn't even know that something was missing for such a long time. It was the true definition of ignorance. When I did start learning about First Nations people, I remember having a sort of lightening bolt moment where I realized I'd never questioned WHY there were no First Nations people in the West Kootenays any more? How could I have gone this long without asking that?

In the late 1800s, the white settlers started building several dams along the river systems in the area, destroying several cultural sites and traditional locations. The boomtown settlers looking for gold and riches started building communities and towns - this is literally what my hometown was founded on. It made areas close to these settlements less desirable and the Sinixt people started spending more and more time in their settlements south of the border. Then the Canadian government declared that the Sinixt people in Canada were extinct and the people residing south of the border lost their rights to their traditional territories. 

I learned this SO late in life. I learned this AFTER I'd learned about the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc of Kamloops. Here, there is a reserve just across the South Thompson from my neighbourhood. This is where the Residential School building still resides. It has since been taken over by the Band and they have built their Pow Wow grounds close to it, to reclaim the space for themselves. 

41st Kamloopa Powwow in The Arbour - T'Kemlups te Secwepemc grounds

The complicity I feel, having spent so long not even realizing that there were no First Nations people in my area has been a wonderful motivator to learn as much as I can. To support however I can. And to show my respect and honour and being invited into any space that was not made for me. 

After accepting Ashley's invitation, she then told me that we would need to bring some tobacco as an offering to the sweat conductor, and she also said where it was taking place: on the illusively private grounds of the Vidette Lake Resort - a.k.a. the location of the Centre of the Universe. 

When the day arrived, we hopped in Ashley's mum's big blue truck and headed towards Savona, ready to take the turn onto Deadman Vidette Rd. I was nervous - I don't think you could avoid being nervous in this kind of situation. I was scared that I would say something out of place, or offend someone somehow. I think I worried that even our presence might not be welcome - we were told that it absolutely was, but still. 

As we drove, I started to notice some signage on the road and I realized that we were actually on reservation land. I later looked it up and realized the whole first part of the drive to Vidette Lake was on the Skeetchestn Reserve - now it made sense why the Sweat Lodge was taking place here. 

An old cabin on the way to Vidette Lake.

Hello again, cow friends.

Finally, we arrived at the gates to the resort, locked just like last time. Except unlike last time, Ashley's friend was there to open the gate and usher us down the road. 

We drove around the back the resort buildings, past a strange structure and parked the truck at the end of the road, facing the lake. 

Ashley's friend and the owner of the resort were there getting the lodge ready. They had built a structure, it was round and about five or six feet high and we were given a sort of crash course on what to expect. 

As we were taking in the structure, a rusted out old car pulled up and a first nations family with two kids tumbled out. 

The family unloaded their belongings from the car while we stood by the fire pit and learned a bit more about what was to come. They explained to us that the fire pit is where they had been preparing the "Grandpas" or the stones that would be used inside the lodge. The one that tended the fire pit is known as the Firekeeper and the one who pours the water on the grandpas is the Conductor.

The tobacco offering is given to the Conductor, and before every round in the Sweat some of it is burned in front of the fire pit in a ritual prayer. 

That's the other thing you should realize about a Sweat Lodge - this is not like going to a sauna and relaxing. There is purpose to each round of the sweat and there are usually four rounds. 

I think ours was slightly bigger than this, and of course covered. 

When I tell you that it is so hot inside this structure. You stick a red hot rock of granite in the middle of this tent, and get 8 people in there, and then fill it with steam, how could it be anything but intense. 

The first two rounds were similar but for different purposes. There was intentions set and words spoken for each round. When we emerged, the cool feeling of the fresh air is like nothing you can ever imagine. 

We went back in for the last round - this was the round for healing. The mother in the family and Ashley and I were the only women, and she was very friendly. It was really surprising when, during the last round, she started weeping loudly. We were so shocked, it felt like it was coming out of nowhere. The heat in this round felt so much more intense than the others - the steam was hotter and thicker, the air flow less and less. 

At one point I thought I was going to start panicking and pried up a bit of the edge of the tent to see if I could find some fresh air. It was enough to keep me present and I made it to the end of the round. 

When we finally stepped outside, I felt like something different had happened this time. My skin felt different - softer or something. And I couldn't help but feel that while I might only be feeling the benefits of the sweat cleaning my skin, something significant happened in there for that family. 

They hopped in their car and drove away shortly afterwards. 

Ashley and I thanked the Firekeeper and the Conductor for letting us be part of this and then we hopped in her truck. 

It wasn't until we drove away that I realized we never even asked about going to see the Centre of the Universe. But I honestly don't think that we could have had a more spiritual experience than we did in that tent.