Local’s Perspective: Todd Penke, Fernie Trails

VIEW FROM CASTLE MOUNTAIN VINCE MO PHOTO

A Message From the Mayor

After two summers of cancelled in person events and festivals, I am certainly looking forward to our festival and events season coming back! Fernie is a true celebration of arts, live music and mountain culture. We are thrilled to welcome back tourism and travellers from near and far to enjoy all of our favourite things.

You can design your own adventure by biking our world famous trails, float the river or hire a local fishing guide to showcase the Elk River. What makes Fernie truly unique is our local entrepreneurs, whether a restaurant or a gallery, our business community is a real window into the creative energy that makes Fernie such a welcoming community.

I hope you enjoy everything Fernie has to offer, and I absolutely hope to see you around town. Be kind, be patient and be safe. Have a terrific summer.

Mayor Ange Qualizza

Sukiⱡq̓ukni kinwakiⱡ Kukin ʔamakʔis!

Ktunaxa have called the Elk Valley home for tens of thousands of years. The Ktunaxa used the area for living, hunting, and fishing, as a path to access buffalo and to get our coal to make our fire as we travelled throughout our homelands. Kukin ʔamakʔis, which is Land of the Raven.

The Ktunaxa people have been in this area since Naⱡmuqȼin fulfilled his prophecy and placed the Ktunaxa people in this area to be the keepers of the land. At that time there was some disturbance caused by a huge water monster known as Yawuʔnik̓, who killed many of the animals. It was decided that Yawuʔnik̓ had to be destroyed. A war party was formed. Yawuʔnik̓ plied the Kootenay (wu·u ʔaqsⱡmaknik ʔakinmituk) and Columbia (Miȼ̓qaqas) River System. When Yawuʔnik̓ was killed, and butchered and distributed among the animals, Yawuʔnik̓’s ribs were scattered throughout the region that now form the Hoodoos seen throughout the region.

When the prophecy was fulfilled, the spirit animals ascended above and are now the guiding spirits of the Ktunaxa. In all the excitement Naⱡmuqȼin rose to his feet and stood upright hitting his head on the ceiling of the sky. He knocked himself dead. His feet went northward and is today known as Ya·kⱡiki, in the Yellowhead Pass vicinity. Naⱡmuqȼin’s head is near Yellowstone Park in the State of Montana. His body forms the Rocky Mountains. Read more at ktunaxa.org/who-we-are/ creation-story/.

As you look around you, the forest is very dense and referred to as Ȼaqahak (Fernie). As you travel, throughout Ktunaxa homelands take special note of the unique landscape.