People often ask what led me to create a line of clean, natural supplements. The real answer goes back generations — to a love story, a hidden truth, and a long road home.
My grandmother, Mabel Angus, fell in love with my grandfather, Bo Lung, along the CN Railroad. They courted carefully, travelling the line with a chaperone, and they loved each other deeply. But when my grandmother came down from the canyon, they made a painful choice. In that era, being "Indian" was treated as shameful — so our family would be known as Chinese and Scottish. The Indigenous part of us, our connection to this land, was quietly folded away to keep us safe.
My grandmother understood the danger better than anyone. As a child, Mabel had survived a residential school, where she endured atrocities no child should ever experience. When you have lived through that, hiding isn't shame — it's the instinct to protect the ones you love. She carried it so we wouldn't have to.
My great-grandmother, Sarah, lost her Indian Status when she married a non-Indigenous man after my great-grandfather passed away — stripped of her identity on paper by a law that, for generations, punished Indigenous women simply for whom they loved.
I grew up with rumours and denials. It wasn't until my mid-50s, after my parents had passed, that the truth was finally confirmed: we are Indigenous — Nlaka'pamux culture, Thompson River Salish.
With the help of John Haugen from Lytton, an Indigenous family-roots expert, I travelled up the canyon, visited various bands, and slowly found my way home. As we drove, I looked out the window and saw my own face in the people we passed. And when the truth finally settled in me, I looked in the mirror, cried, and knew who I was. One of the reasons I pursued my own Status was to honour Sarah — to reclaim what had been taken from her.
Suddenly, so much made sense — most of all, my lifelong pull toward the land, the sky, spirit, and Creator. My instinct to heal wasn't random; it was inherited. It lived in my blood and bones long before I had words for it.
That homecoming is the very heart of Cydney Mar Wellness. When I formulate, I lean into Mother Earth — into the medicine of the natural world, into clean, thoughtful ingredients that work with the body rather than against it. Every bottle is an expression of that journey home: a blend of wisdom, science, and care, made in Canada, rooted in respect for the earth that holds us.
Finding my roots also changed how I move through the world — more mindful, more gentle, more aware of trauma and of healing. I've done my best to support reconciliation, because for me it has never been abstract. It's Mabel. It's Sarah. It's family. And I bring that same intention to how I make my products and to everyone I'm lucky enough to serve.
This June, for National Indigenous History Month, I'm honouring my ancestors and the journey that brought me home — and the natural calling that became this brand. If you've ever felt the pull to live a little closer to the earth, and to care for yourself gently and naturally, I'm so glad you're here. That's exactly what I make these for.
Much love & gratitude,
Cydney
Photo: Lytton, 2019 — where the Fraser meets the Thompson, in the heart of Nlaka'pamux territory. The CN line still runs through it, just as it runs through our family. With John Haugen and my cousin Juanita beside me, the day I began to find my way home.
