Caught on camera: Whales appear during Indigenous ceremony for 215 children
The video showing Cory drumming beside the ocean is the last thing he’d imagine he’d be doing, if you’d asked him a few years ago.
“Previous to 2014, I wasn’t exactly the model citizen,” Cory says.
He was struggling with addiction and disconnected from his community.
“To be honest, I had no business being around my people,” he says.
But then one day he found himself at a canoe festival, and Cory happened to have a conversation with a stranger who challenged the way he was living his life.
“After that, things changed and I wanted to learn about where we come from,” Cory says. “And learn our true responsibility as First Nations people.”
He was inspired to become a steward for the environment. He started learning about the cultural significance of things, like why the number four is sacred (“That’s always representing north, east, south and west”), and the cultural role that other animals play, like the orca:
“When somebody passes away, the past chiefs of their family will come in the form of the killer whale,” Cory says. “And they will come to carry them off to the spirit world.”
Cory also learned about the power of ceremony (like the one caught on video in Campbell River) to honour the 215 children found at the Kamloops Residential School.
“Everybody had pretty heavy hearts,” Cory says, describing the start of the ceremony. “We were still really feeling it.”
Words were shared and prayers were offered before Cory and other members of his community performed a paddle song. Then, he noticed that the people watching them were pulling out their cameras and pointing out to the ocean.
“Oh my gosh,” a woman off camera gasps. “Awesome!”
Of all the animals that could have appeared at that exact moment, it was not one whale, but four. “When that sacred number appeared, wow!”
Cory says it intensified the group’s playing.
“It was heavy.”
And the man who had once been so disengaged from his culture, couldn’t have felt more connected to it.
“Honestly, (it was) one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen and had the privilege to be part of,” Cory says.
The video shows the whales swimming close behind the performers. Cory says he was witnessing his ancestors and seeing one of their legends come to life.
“I believe they came to deliver our messages to the children,” Cory says, fighting back tears. “They’re giving the kids their final journey that should have taken place a long time ago.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian gov't proposes new foreign influence registry as part of wide-spanning new bill
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government is proposing a suite of new measures and law changes aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada, amid extensive scrutiny over past meddling attempts and an ever-evolving threat landscape.
Boeing Starliner capsule's first crewed test flight postponed
The long-awaited first crewed test flight of Boeing's new Starliner space capsule was called off for at least 24 hours over a technical issue that launch teams were unable to resolve in time for the planned Monday night lift-off.
Teacher charged in historical sexual assault of Calgary teenage girl
Calgary police have charged a teacher with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl more than 20 years ago.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Man banned from owning animals after fatal Calgary dog attack
The owner of three Calgary dogs that got loose and mauled a woman to death in 2022 has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine within one year and banned from owning any animal for 15 years.
East-end Ottawa family dealing with massive rat infestation
Residents in Ottawa’s Elmridge Gardens complex are dealing with a rat infestation that just won’t go away. Now, after doing everything they can to try to fix the issue, they are pleading with the city to step in and help.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Newfoundland and Labrador latest province to tighten rules on Airbnbs
Newfoundland and Labrador is the latest jurisdiction to bring in stricter rules for short-term rentals, with a coming set of regulations that will force operators to register with the provincial government.