If you’ve walked around the Shuswap Lake General Hospital (SLH) recently, then you may have noticed an addition to its outdoor area.
A new Indigenous garden has been placed on the south side of the hospital, facing McGuire Lake. The plants there are all local and have been used by the Secwépemc people for generations for healing purposes.
SLH staff and physicians, along with other members of the community, gathered recently to celebrate its grand opening.
“The Secwépemc peoples have sustainably stewarded these lands since time immemorial, and it is an honour to bring some of their traditional knowledge to Shuswap Lake General Hospital,” Karl Rhebergen, director, clinical operations, SLH and Queen Victoria Hospital, said in their release.
Rhebergen said he hopes the garden will become a place of knowledge that is more accessible and the hospital more inviting and welcoming to First Nations, Métis and other Indigenous community members who may have felt neglected by the health-care system.
Signs have been placed to teach visitors about each plant and how it has been used for healing. This project is a partnership between Interior Health, local physicians and the BC College of Family Physicians.
Secwépemc Elder Jean Brown was at the grand-opening event to bless the garden. Splatsin said support from Laura Horthuis, central functions coordinator, and other SLH staff have been instrumental to the project’s success.
The public is welcome to visit the garden and learn more about the Secwépemc people.
