Welcoming Returning Members

Welcoming Returning Members

INITIATION DRAFT — Ayaawx teaching page explaining the responsibilities and protocols for welcoming home members who return to their wilp, whether after years away, intergenerational removal, or personal struggle. Returning is an act of strength and identity, and Ayaawx provides clear pathways for belonging.

Overview

Many Tsm̱syen people were separated from their wilp through:

• residential schools,
• adoption,
• displacement from territory,
• poverty and addiction,
• government removal,
• foster care,
• shame,
• or simply life’s struggles.

When a member returns, it is not a small moment — it is a restoration of the wilp.

Ayaawx teaches that every member has the right to come home, and the wilp has the responsibility to receive them.

Returning Is Honorable

There is no shame in returning. The shame belongs to the systems that caused the separation — not to the person who comes home.

Returning means:

• choosing identity,
• choosing family,
• choosing culture,
• choosing to carry responsibility again.

It is an act of courage.

Wilp Responsibility to Receive Returning Members

A wilp must welcome a returning member with:

• dignity,
• care,
• respect (łoomsk),
• and patience.

The wilp is responsible for:

• reintroducing stories (adaawx),
• showing territorial places,
• teaching feast protocol,
• reconnecting them with matriarchs,
• guiding them toward their role and responsibilities.

A person does not “earn” their place back — they already have it.

Role of Matriarchs (sigyidm hana̱’a̱)

Matriarchs guide the process of reconnection. They:

• greet the returning member,
• assess their needs,
• explain expectations,
• provide historical context,
• ensure safety,
• and protect them from judgment or lateral violence.

Matriarchs make space for healing.

Role of Chiefs and Speakers

Sm’oogyet and speakers (sgigithanauk) help with:

• public acknowledgment,
• feast introductions,
• giving correct names and relationships,
• representing the returning member in formal settings,
• reaffirming their place in the family tree.

A speaker gives the words the heart may not yet have.

Protection From Shame and Judgment

Returning members must be protected from:

• gossip,
• exclusion,
• comparison,
• past mistakes being held against them,
• being treated as outsiders in their own House.

Ayaawx does not allow a returned member to be shamed. Shame weakens the wilp; welcoming strengthens it.

Teaching and Reorientation

Returning members may need:

• language teachings (Sm’algya̱x),
• story teachings (adaawx),
• protocols for feasts (li’ligit / luulgyit),
• knowledge of harvesting areas,
• instruction in duties of their House,
• understanding of crest rights, titles, and responsibilities.

This teaching must be done with patience and encouragement.

Returning is not judged — learning is welcomed.

Restoring Connection to Land

Reconnection includes:

• visiting old campsites,
• learning harvesting cycles,
• returning to rivers and berry grounds,
• helping with smokehouse work,
• participating in food gathering,
• walking the territories of the House.

The land remembers the person, even when the person has forgotten the land.

Feast Recognition (When Appropriate)

A wilp may choose to:

• acknowledge the returning member at a feast,
• formally welcome them with witnesses,
• present them publicly to the community,
• offer symbolic gifts or blankets,
• or simply name them in the House roll.

Feasts turn private return into public truth.

Supporting Those Who Return From Hard Times

Some members return after:

• addiction,
• incarceration,
• homelessness,
• grief,
• or deep personal struggle.

Ayaawx teaches:

• they are not defined by hardship,
• they are not measured by colonial systems,
• they are not to be judged by their wounds,
• they carry the strength of survival,
• and the wilp must help them rebuild.

Healing strengthens the House.

Responsibilities of Returning Members

Returning comes with responsibilities:

• to learn,
• to behave with respect and humility,
• to participate in wilp life,
• to rebuild trust,
• to carry the House name proudly,
• and to contribute to future generations.

A return is not the end of the journey — it is the beginning of belonging again.

Summary

Welcoming returning members is:

• an Ayaawx responsibility,
• a healing action,
• a strengthening of the wilp,
• a reclaiming of identity,
• and a restoration of balance.

No member is ever “lost forever.” When they return, the wilp becomes whole again.

Notes

INITIATION DRAFT — To expand with matriarch teachings, feast examples, healing protocols, and recommended supports for reconnecting members.