A powerful movement of healing arrives at Delta’s Discovery Centre

An inspiring, multi-year initiative uniting communities along the Fraser and Thompson River watersheds has officially reached Delta.

An inspiring, multi-year initiative uniting communities along the Fraser and Thompson River watersheds has officially reached Delta. On July 3, the rhythmic beat of a drum welcomed the Community Elements Chest to its temporary home at the Douglas J. Husband Discovery Centre. The chest is a central piece of the Honouring Our Grandmothers Healing Journey, an initiative led by Nlaka’pamux and Secwepemc artist, mother, and grandmother Nadine Spence.

From 2022 to 2026, the movement follows the four-year cycle of wild salmon. It unites Indigenous peoples and the wider community to share stories, honour ancestors, and address generational trauma. The chest was crafted by seven multicultural artists.

Inspired by the four essential elements of fire, water, air, and earth, it will remain on display in Delta until Sept. 20, 2026. Visitors are invited to leave letters, photos, and tokens inside the cedar bentwood chest to give thanks, celebrate, or grieve loved ones. For Spence, bringing the chest to Delta carries deep spiritual weight.

“You live in one of the most powerful places,” Spence said at the opening event. “Many of you don’t realize that this is a really beautiful place to live because it’s where the new water meets the old water.” “In my healing of letting go, just like the salmon does, is when it leaves that ocean of the old water to the new water, it makes a decision.

It knows that it’s actually going to its final journey and it’s letting go of the fat that it carries,” she said. “But that also means that I’m going to be letting go of the things that I’m holding on to, that I’m still carrying that are heavy on me of being an Indigenous woman and a grandmother, and someone that still fights a good fight to protect the natural world, our Indigenous people, the lands and the waters, and the salmon that we all share.” Tsawwassen First Nation Executive Councillor Valerie Cross talked about the strong effect of grandmothers.

She shared her own experience of being raised by her grandparents after being apprehended as a child, explaining how her grandmother modelled unconditional love. “When it’s time to engage our families, who do we contact? We contact the grandmothers, and they are the network that get us connected to the rest of the family,” Cross said.

“My life is owed to them,” she said, reflecting on how her grandmother’s teachings of love, nurturing, and resilience laid the foundation for her own life. She noted that while her grandfather was forbidden to pass down their traditional language, she is now learning Hul’q’umi’num, which she calls an important part of community renewal. Later this fall, as the wild salmon travel upriver, the message chests will make their final journey home.

In late October or early November, the collected offerings will be respectfully released to the sky in a ceremony, helping to lighten the burden of grief for future generations.