Semá:th Lightning Rock Ceremony
On March 31st, 2025, the Lightning Rock site and surrounding lands were formally returned to the Semá:th (Sumas First Nation). To honour this return and the decades of hard work leading up to it, Semá:th hosted a community celebration on October 19, 2025, at the Sumas First Nation Longhouse in Kilgard.
The gathering brought together Elders, Leaders, representatives from the Government of BC (Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation), team members, and many others from the community to reflect and to celebrate the preservation of this sacred site for future generations.
Chief Silver was honoured, and as he spoke in the longhouse, the sound of the rain and thunder outside swelled until nothing else could be heard, in what can only be described as a powerful and historic moment for the Semá:th.
Lightning Rock, and the surrounding land, is understood by the Semá:th as an ancestral burial site and a place of spiritual power and teaching, associated with a place of transformation connected to Thunderbird. They are committed to the protection and respectful stewardship of the site and have begun plans to restore the area and build an interpretive centre to promote Semá:th culture, identity, and intergenerational learning.
