As youth in Húy̓at,
our Elders were taught what it meant to contribute to Heiltsuk society – what was expected of them as a Heiltsuk community member. Some of the lessons learned were about working hard, helping others, and sharing our harvests. They learned to respect their Elders and doing what was asked of them. Interwoven with these actions, they learned of their responsibility to our rituals and to the history embedded in the ancestral names we carry.
"Everybody was always looking after the next person... If anything if I could, I would give that back to my children, the closeness we had."
- Emma Reid
"My great-grandmother when she taught me the old ways of life of the old Heiltsuk system: 'if you got nothing to do, don't do it here! Go help somebody, go help with somebody’s boat or pack wood or go enjoy yourself, go enjoy yourself.'"
- Ed Martin
