Terrie Barnhard, a proud lək̓ʷəŋən woman and member of the Songhees First Nation, is a Sixties Scoop Survivor. Born on lək̓ʷəŋən territory, she was raised in Edmonton, disconnected from her birth family, community, and culture. A strong mother of two, Terrie returned to her ancestral lands in 1993. Inspired by her daughters and grandchildren, she is now on a lifelong journey to reclaim the roots and ancestral teachings that were disrupted by genocide and the settler colonial system.
Terrie’s journey includes relearning lək̓ʷəŋiʔnəŋ, the language of her people, through the Language Revitalization Program at the Songhees Nation. This work is vital because, as a result of colonization, there is only one first-speaker of lək̓ʷəŋiʔnəŋ remaining.
As a keeper of lək̓ʷəŋən knowledge, culture, and traditions, Terrie now works at the University of Victoria’s First People’s House. In this role, she welcomes people and events to the territory, while also educating settlers and other visitors about the traditional keepers of the land now known as “Victoria.” She approaches this work with humility, guided by the mentorship of her family’s Knowledge Keepers: her uncles, Butch and Skip Dick, and her cousin, Yuxwelupton Bradley Dick.