An Iict'uuthla, or Coming of Age potlatch, took place at Maht Mahs on Oct. 29, for five young women whose family roots connect them to elder Tony Marshall.
Four of the young women are the great-granddaughters of Marshall; he is grandfather to the fifth young woman, Victoria.
According to Margaret Eaton, her niece Angeline Charleson planned the event, initially for her daughter only. Angeline recalled speaking to her late grandmother, Evelyn Marshall, who told her that she wanted this ceremony done for her granddaughters.
Angeline said she wanted to do this for her daughter because she has fond memories of the Iict’uuthla her family held for her when she was a teenager.
“I always remembered it and wanted to give my daughter that experience,” said Angeline.
Keeping in mind what her grandmother said, Angeline and Sylvester opened the door for other Marshall family members to take part in the ceremony.
“She is respecting her grandmother’s last wishes and dad (Tony Marshall) is all excited about it,” said Eaton.
The Iict’uuthla is intended to announce to the people that a girl has entered the next stage of her life. It shows the people who she is related to and who she is cherished by and much more. According to Tim Sutherland, it means that the young lady has received teachings at another level from close family members and, in this case, it shows that her father is her main protector.
He went on to say that these girls each received teachings from their elder family members prior to the day of the potlatch.
“Their grandmothers, mothers and aunties brought them up well and will always be there to guide them,” he explained.
The potlatch started with a traditional cleansing of the floor followed by the host giving ta’ilthma (support) to guests that are in mourning. There was an official welcoming from the Tseshaht people.
Emcee Richard Watts announced that the five young women would each make a grand entrance, and because the girls come from different nations with different ways of doing things, their entrances would reflect those differences.
Some were escorted in with guardians and one was carried in, seated on a wooden litter.
Evelyn Charleson, 13, was escorted into the room behind a shield of shawls. Sylvester explained that the shawls were significant because they were made with special designs that appeared on a vest that her grandmother, late Evelyn Marshall, wore. The two shawls were made by Faith Watts and belonged to Angeline and Evelyn.
The rest of the girls made a grand entrance before being seated together near the ceremonial curtain. The young women are Makenna Amos, 13, daughter of Crystal Watts and adopted by Peter Amos; Hannah Curr, 13, daughter of Candice and Brandon Curr; Mercedes Marshall, 14, daughter of Natasha Gallic-Marshall and Gary Dawson; Victoria Johnston, 15, daughter of Josephine Marshall-Johnston and Randy Johnston.
Later in the evening the young women were given traditional names from their families.
Evelyn Charleson received an historic Hesquiaht name from Charleson family. Mercedes was given a name from the Gallic family. Victoria’s name did not come from Lillooet, but reflected her roots to Lillooet. Makenna’s name came from Peter Amos’ family and Hannah’s name translates to Little Butterfly, according to the hosts.
Later in the evening, the Charleson family presented a painting to Haahuupayak School in gratitude for the work they did with Evelyn. Sylvester said his daughter excelled in academics, culture and sports while attending the school. “She enjoyed it there so much she didn’t want to leave to go to high school,” said Angeline.
The evening was filled with dancing and presentations from extended family coming from Ditidaht, Hesquiaht, Tseshaht, Mowachaht/Muchalaht and Kyuquot.
