Keeping the fire alive
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By LeRae Haynes
The Olympic torch stops on the Sugar Cane reserve on its way to Williams Lake this week, at the end of a three-day celebration by the Williams Lake Indian Band. The carrying of the Olympic torch by Julie Palmantier through the main roads on the reserve, will be one of the longest runs in the torch relay, and has great historical significance for the entire area.
(Photo: Jean William talks about the historical significance of the Shuswap fire runners and how they relate to the Olympic torch bearers. Phot by: About Face Photography.)
Carrying the torch, or carrying the fire, was a custom recorded in oral tradition for the Secwepemc people as far back as the early 1880s. Jean William, elder, fire-keeper and knowledge-keeper for the Williams Lake Indian Band, said that her grandfather described what she calls the ‘fire runners.’
In an interview with CBC Radio in 1964, Tommy Wycotte Sr., Jean’s grandfather, talked about the ‘fire runners,’ who carried fire on a stick from one pit house to another and on to other pit house villages.
“My grandfather said that the young fire runners went for miles and miles to make sure that everyone had fire for warmth and cooking,” Jean explained.
The fire runners were trusted to provide to the neighboring bands and nations, stories and messages that were given to them in the exact words of the chiefs, the families and the medicine people who sent them to deliver their words throughout the territories and beyond.
She said that her grandfather talked about how to keep the fire alive when carrying it from place to place. “He said that you ‘bury the fire to keep it warm’ and called it ‘keeping the fire warm for the poor people,’” she continued. “This was during the small pox devastation, and when the runner went from pit house to pit house, he often had to search for someone alive to share the fire.”
Jean said that when the band found out that the Olympic torch was going to come to their community, she was given the responsibility to be the ‘fire keeper’ and the ‘knowledge keeper’.
“On our banner at the torch ceremony it will say ‘Fire Runner---strong, honourable, trustworthy and brave, carrier of knowledge and chosen messenger’. It will say ‘Keep the flame alive’ in the Shuswap language,” she said. “Fire is one of the sacred elements—we can’t live without fire.”
(Photo: Banner created by Three Corners Health Services Society and SpeedPro Signs. Photo by About Face Photography.)
The fire runners in the old days had certain skills, characteristics and talents, according to Jean, who said that it is a metaphor about the Olympic athletes, who have the same talent, strength, fearlessness and dedication.
“Having the Olympic torch here brings back the way we were, and also shows a real connection to the rest of the world. The torch is carried from one country to another and from one nation to another: we are one of those nations,” she said.
“I work with children, sharing stories in the community---they need to hear this. They will grow up to honour their own history and the languages. They will honour themselves and be proud of who they are---they are a part of Mother Earth and a part of the human race,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us to bring people together and carry a message to the world.”
(Photo below: Julie Palmantier was selected as the Olympic torch bearer at Sugarcane on Thursday as the torch makes its way from 100 Mile House to Williams Lake. Banner created by SpeedPro Signs in Williams Lake. Photo by About Face Photography.)
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