The Wharf Sessions: Kenthen Thomas
Weytk, my name is Kenthen Thomas from the Secwepemc’ulucw (spread out people of the Shuswap). My kye7e’s and Sle7e’s are Dr. Mary Thomas, Mark Thomas, Herbie and Vera Johnny. I am of Secwepemc and Syilx descent. My father and mother are Phyllis and Gerry Thomas. I have a beautiful son and his name is Susep Soulle.
1. How long have you been a storyteller?
I started storytelling at around twenty. So about twenty + years. More recently though I’ve become a little more serious about it as I became a qualified teacher.
2. How did you learn these stories / how did these stories find you?
I learn these stories by word of mouth and other storytellers. I also utilize writings from James Teit and stories from such writings as Secwepemc Land, Language and laws, by Ron and Marianne Ignace.
3. The Secwepemc stories that you tell are called Stspetkwll, or Legends that Teach, and they are more than just entertainment. They are meant to be told and re-told, and for the listener to gain new meanings and teachings every time they hear them. We are emerging from a pandemic, so I’m curious what meaning Coyote and the Salmon holds for you at the moment?
For me, This story speaks about connectivity and the feelings of being lost and lonely. In this story everyone is at one time lost or lonely and they hold themselves in this space until they feel safe to abandon these feelings and connect to another. I feel that especially in this time of global pandemic we can all realize and understand these feelings and once we can connect to each other again it is up to us as humans to re-connect to others and ourselves.
4. Where and how do you normally share these stories, and how has the pandemic affected this?
Usually pre-pandemic I would share these stories wherever there was an audience and where they might feed me. In the last year the re-telling’s of the stories declined substantially until about….. January. Then things started picking up once again. I feel that the pandemic is a little like the long long winters my ancestors must have had where they felt desolate and alone. Then they would start sharing the stories of their past and laughing and teaching. This is all they had in those long winters and this is what we have during our long pandemic. Each other and the stories.
5. Your drum is an active part of your storytelling, as it takes on different characters and actions. Tell us about this instrument.
The drum is about tempo. Its also about class management when im in a classroom. Usually there’s a student who is struggling to sit and listen so ill use the drum to get their attention and to let them know that I see them struggling but im also here sharing a story with them. This is done with a big bang of my drum and eye contact. But mostly its for timing and tempo of the story so that the listener doesn’t have to do so much work to gauge where they should be in the story. I can help them along with my drum.
6. What happens to you as a storyteller when you wear the coyote skin?
I like to think that I transform into Senxulucw. Who is the “one” or “coyote” who is more than a trickster, he is a teacher.
7. For you, what’s the value of sharing these Secwepemc stories with the entire region?
I think it’s the beginning of an understanding of Secwepemc or Qelmucw ways of knowing and being. You can see the ways in which our ancestors thought and beliefs that they may have had. You can see the interconnectivity that they may have seen and understood. You can also feel their words come alive within your own thoughts and within your own heart. But then again, maybe its just a story and it makes one smile a little?
7. I’m about to press play on your story Coyote and the Salmon, what’s the ideal listening setup?
You should be walking along the foreshore trail, with headphones, at dusk… OR You should be snuggled around the campfire with your friends or family, under the stars… Use your imagination! Before one listens, they can close their eyes and imagine their connections that they know they have. Imagine that connection to your family, friends and other humans. Then go beyond that and imagine that same connection that we have with all living things, the plants, the animals, the insects, the water and the air, everything. In this moment also realize that we are just a simple human, sentient being who has the ability to imagine and to think of what may be, our possibilities. Then realize that life is precious and that we are truly just a small part of existence of all living things. That without those unseen and rarely spoken of connections we are just a human and whne we say “all our relations” we are speaking of all living things. We are all connected, all living things and we are all related.
The Arts Centre is grateful for the support it receives from its sponsors, without whom this project would not be possible: SASCU, Chad Eliason Mortgage Broker, Askew’s Foods, the Armstrong Regional Co-op, Johnston Meier Insurance, Grant Thornton, Stella-Jones, Shuswap Tourism, the City of Salmon Arm, and the Government of British Columbia.
Like what you hear? Click DONATE and instantly support Shuswap District Arts Council
Photography by Kristal Burgess