Camp History

Our camp program started with the belief that empowering youth through a greater sense of place and cultural identity would help them to build positive momentum in their lives. We also recognized that the best way to keep at-risk youth out of trouble is to acquaint them with the great outdoors and the resourcefulness of their ancestors.

Koeye Camp evolved out of a smaller-scale camp program that took seriously at-risk Heiltsuk youth to live on the land in Roscoe Inlet for brief periods in the summer. The program employed upstanding Heiltsuk youth aged 15-17 to be positive role models for the kids. Activities included hiking, camping, food and medicine gathering, and exploring cultural sites and artifacts. It proved to be a successful model for the campers because they often became the older teen helpers and role models later on.

Over the course of several years, as more community members realized the positive impact of the youth camping programs, there was increasing call for a bigger, more structured camp model with the capacity to accommodate a greater number and broader range of participants. It became evident that we needed a stronger infrastructure to support our program. This was one impetus behind our move from Roscoe Inlet to the Koeye River watershed in the late 1990s.

In the culturally and ecologically rich environment of Koeye the program expanded rapidly. What started with a few tents and four campers per week developed into a sophisticated camp program with two cedar-plank cabins, an elders’ cottage, a traditional bighouse, and a support-based relationship with our Koeye Lodge. We now accommodate up to 30 campers per week and employ around a dozen Heiltsuk students as staff at Koeye.

Our range of programs has also expanded. Over the years we have launched various special camps, including "Camp Hope" for kids struggling with addiction problems, Family Camp to bring together struggling families, camps for FASD children, and our Youth Leadership Camp.

Our mainstay has always been our summer science and culture camps. Young people of all backgrounds can benefit from a greater connection with their culture and environment. Looking farther ahead, we see that our culture and environment will one day be in the hands of our young people. Far beyond simply keeping kids out of trouble, we are creating a generation of leaders who will be invested in the things that make us strong. They in turn will lead the next generation to even greater strength. We are creating an enduring succession of Heiltsuk leadership that will uphold and support youth, culture, and environment long after we are gone.

Dhadhixsistala – Completing the Circle of Knowledge

The heart of our cultural programs in Koeye can be found in the contributions of our late Heiltsuk elder Thistalalh (Edward) Martin, known to campers as Pops or Papa Ed. A grandfather-figure and mentor to campers and staff alike, Pops was a vivid storyteller, a fluent speaker of our Heiltsuk language, and a skilled gatherer of traditional resources. It is no surprise that our youth responded so passionately to his quiet teachings. This bond between youth and elder, solidified by the strength of Heiltsuk tradition and identity, helped to develop the powerful cultural foundation of our camp program.

As our youth grew to become cultural leaders in their own right, we realized we needed to give them a gift to acknowledge their great learning. So we began the momentous task of building a traditional bighouse at Koeye for the youth to learn and practice their culture in a sacred ceremonial space. This unprecedented initiative used locally-milled lumber and employed local tradesmen, artists, and community youth interested in learning valuable skills. The Koeye Bighouse, named Dhadhixsistala, was completed in 2006.

Dhadhixsistala, roughly translated, means “completing the circle of knowledge” – an apt reflection of Papa Ed’s legacy and the strength he gave to the cultural identity of our youth. Papa Ed passed away in 2005, the winter before the bighouse opening. In 2007, to acknowledge Ed’s contributions over the long years of our program, we erected the first mortuary pole to be raised in our territory in living memory. The bighouse and the pole, the first to be raised in our territory in living memory, stand at Koeye as testaments to the revitalization of our proud cultural traditions.

You can learn more about Papa Ed's legacy on the Thistalalh Memorial Library website!

New: we have also completed the carving of a mortuary pole for our revered cultural leader Haemzid (David) Gladstone.

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