The titles of the new ED/ICU addition at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital are in Carrier and Chilcotin.

The Indigenous “companion name” for the brand-new ED/ICU addition at G.R. Baker Memorial Hospital was unveiled by Northern Health on Thursday.

Three lines make up the name: the first is in Carrier, the second is in Chilcotin, and the third is in English. Dune Soonunakehududzuk (Du Neh Soo nuh nah keh hud ud zuk) Deni Belh is the name of the character. The People are Healing, also known as Ats’enanx (Deneh beth ats enal), was created in collaboration with the nearby Nazko First Nation, Lhtako Dene Nation, and others. Lhoosk’uz Dene First Nation and Esdilagh First Nation

The ability to communicate in our native language was wonderful (Southern Carrier). We are the ones that travelled far. Both our collective voices and those of the land’s knowledge keepers are very powerful. Ellie Peters, an Lhtako Dene elder and member of the naming working group, said that everything comes from the heart, the mind, and our voice. Now that I’ve seen our welcome sign (Dune Soonunakehududzuk), I’m glad to enter the hospital and proceed down the hall.

In order to establish its name, Northern Health worked with elders and Indigenous community organizations. This dedication to cultural safety and reconciliation is shared by the health authority.

“The First People have given the various sites and spaces in our province traditional names for many centuries. An immediate sense of welcome is created by seeing and hearing our languages, according to Nicole Cross Noxs Niisyuus, vice president of Indigenous Health. “The leadership of the communities and the collaboration we are forming excite and encourage me.”