Aqua Gulf Islands October/november 2016
Living
Volume 11, Issue 5
Cultural resurgence Indigenous ways of being shared on the Gulf Islands
Arts
| food
| community
SATURNA'S CREW Volunteer firefighters step up to serve
HOME WORK IWAV puts energy into affordable housing
| People
| Fa r m s | i d e a s
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COVER STORY
Land and spirit re-awakens at Xwaaqw'um on Salt Spring Island, PAGE 8
contents 30
TANTALIZERS! PAGE 6
FARMS
Enthusiasm meets dedication at Bright Farm, PAGE 15
CULTURE
Clam gardens provide rich learning environment for WSÁNEC youth and researchers, PAGE 20
Island Style Outfitters
COMMUNITY
Island Women Against Violence put focus on housing, PAGE 27 Pender Islands Community Hall and the Bear Mother Project, PAGE 35 Keeping us safe: Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department, PAGE 43
THE ARTS
First Salt Spring Island Ceramics Awards takes shape in October, PAGE 30
COMFORT FOOD
Colleen Bowen and the spices of South Africa, PAGE 39
Q&A
Wave Walker shares stories and spirit with Gulf Islands students, PAGE 46 www.mouatsclothing.com 1-877-490-5593 106 Fulford-Ganges Rd. Page 4 – AQUA – October/November 2016
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OCT/Nov 2016
No easy assignments
I
was feeling kind of hopeful about how awareness of First Nations issues has grown since release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's final report last year. Public discussions and media attention arising from the report were abundant and broad-ranging. Then I interviewed Joe Akerman for an Aqua story about cultural revitalization activities he is facilitating on Salt Spring Island at “Xwaaqw’um” (say “Who-auck-wum” and you will be close). He bummed me out. Joe stressed how there is no quick way back from the impact of government/church/colonizers’ treatment of indigenous people in Canada. Even the term “reconciliation” suggests that by acknowledging past wrongs and vowing to do better the slate will be wiped clean and we can carry on without guilt. To truly heal relationships with First Nations, Joe says, requires deep work, true respect, time, commitment and, frankly, sharing of the wealth. It will not be easy nor comfortable, he predicts. But when Quw’utsun elder Tsoulim tells us that some
gayle mavor photo
Editor’s Message
300 Quw’utsun children know Tzinquaw songs and dances; when I read Sean McIntyre’s story in this issue of Aqua about the WSÁNEC students exploring clam gardens their ancestors tended; and when I hear about indigenous youth camps at Xwaaqw’um, I have hope that future generations of indigenous people will have a better footing than those of my generation. I recently discovered that the daughter of a Tsilhqot’in woman I knew 30 years ago has earned a journalism degree and is focusing on indigenous issues. That made me feel hopeful. I hope the stories on regional First Nations topics in this issue will also generate positive action and contribute in some way to an understanding of recent cultural revitalization efforts. The other main stories in this issue are also about daunting tasks: creating affordable housing, running a small island fire department, building a community hall (with welcome poles) and farming. Island dwellers have never been afraid of hard work, even when it hurts. — Gail Sjuberg
Aqua Gulf Islands
Living
This issue published Sept. 28, 2016 Publisher: Amber Ogilvie Editor: Gail Sjuberg Art Director & Production: Lorraine Sullivan Advertising: Daniel Ureta, Fiona Foster Aqua Writers: Sean McIntyre, Elizabeth Nolan, Gail Sjuberg, Cherie Thiessen, Roger Brunt, Hans Tammemagi, Marcia Jansen Aqua Photographers: Jen MacLellan, Sean McIntyre, Hans Tammemagi, Cherie Thiessen, Gail Sjuberg, Marcia Jansen Cover photo of Tzinquaw Dancer at Salt Spring event by Jen MacLellan Aqua is published by Driftwood Publishing Ltd., 328 Lower Ganges Road, Salt Spring Island, B.C. V8K 2V3 Phone: 250-537-9933 / Email: news@driftwoodgimedia.com Websites: www.driftwoodgimedia.com; www.gulfislandsdriftwood.com Publications Mail Reg. #08149 Printed in Canada
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October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 5
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Mercier will assist the new owner through a transition during the next year. • A new venture is growing on Pender Island and everyone Matthew Vasilev and Katie Selbee. is invited to check it out on Saturday, Oct. 8. People can meet Katie Selbee and Matthew Vasilev while touring their Twin Island Cidery at 5601 Lupin Rd. beginning at 11 a.m. (Bring a picnic lunch.) The farm-based cidery and orchard is in its first year, and aims to have products for sale and a tasting room open in the spring of 2017. After lunch the tour continues at Valley Home Farm at 4506 Bedwell Harbour Rd. • The first Galiano Reads event was a sold-out bestseller last year. This year the island’s library and Galiano Island Books have switched things up with a science fiction theme. Five island personalities — Christina Stechisin, Arnie Bell, Paul LeBlond, Stephen Atkins and Carleigh Baker — will champion a title they believe “will break barriers and build community.” The public event is on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the South Galiano Community Hall. The winner is determined by a vote that evening. Advance tickets are at the bookstore. Food, drinks and books are all part of the night.
courtesy twin island cidery
• Salt Spring’s Giant Book Sale is celebrating its 10th anniversary and welcoming bibliophiles from near and far to feast on its offerings from Friday, Nov. 18 to Sunday, Nov. 20 at the Farmers’ Institute building on Rainbow Road. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days, and also includes the second annual Jewels for Literacy Sale, which was a huge hit last year. Both sales benefit the Salt Spring Literacy Society, which runs adult, children and family literacy programs. • Garry Oaks Vineyard on Salt Spring Island has a new owner. Elaine Kozak and Marcel Mercier, who planted the vineyard in 1999 and have run it since then, recently sold the estate to Nalini Samuel. Over the years, Garry Oaks Winery won numerous awards for its wines, and serves as a popular destination for wine lovers from around the world. “It’s hard to let go of something we’ve put our heart and soul into for so long,” Kozak said. “But it’s time for us to move on and we’re doing so proud of having created a beautiful Mysteries and thrillers at and flourishing legacy.” Kozak and last year's Giant Book Sale.
Congratulations Saanich Fair onon your 149th Anniversary Congratulations Saanich Fair your 149th Anniversary
Working together to enhance our Province
al Identity ual IdentityGuide Guide
“Art is one very strong industry for First Nations---I myself am a collector of works by local aboriginal artists. We need to work together to create more opportunities for aboriginal youth.”
The Provincial Liberal Government and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres (BCAAFC) have been I was my was farming onaimed Wain For For more information about correct usage, working together two dad labour market at When I born, wason born, my dad was projects farming on Wain more information about correct usage, When helping more youth join British Columbia’s workforce and my Road, North Saanich. My older brothers and my Road, North Saanich. My older brothers and toorrequest copies of the BC Liberal logo or wordmarks, to request copies of the BC Liberal logo or wordmarks, recruiting others want to own work in to Aboriginal non-profi t older sister hadwho their own calves raise and my my older sister had their calves to raise and please contact the the party office. please contact party office. organizations. oldest brother Michael was even a blue ribbon Stephen Roberts with Coast Salish artist Virgil Sampson of Central Saanich, and his new acquisition, Virgil’s heron on an elk-skin drum.
oldest brother Michael was even a blue ribbon winner at the Fair!Fair! winner at Saanich the Saanich The Fair and my go way The Fair andfamily my family go back... way back...
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NAME photo
Cover Story
Welcome to
Xwaaqw’um
Indigenous cultural resurgence WELL underway on Salt Spring Island
gail sjuberg photo + at top
By GAIL SJUBERG Photos as credited
Page 8 – AQUA – October/November 2016
W
hen I think about the recent interest in truth and reconciliation efforts in Canada, I realize how much of it revolves around learning and unlearning. We need to listen to and absorb the stories and perspectives of indigenous peoples, while figuring out how to discard the layers of negative narratives we've grown up with. It requires a large-scale, open-hearted commitment and effort to accept and be part of the necessary change around truth and reconciliation, which is why it was encouraging to see so many Salt Spring
Islanders at a gathering on Aug. 20, 2016 hosted by members of the Quw’utsun (Cowichan) Tribes. At the heartfelt welcome-pole ceremony at Xwaaqw’um — which translates to “female merganser duck place” in the Hul’q’umi’num language and is also known as Burgoyne Bay — Quw’utsun artist and speaker Simuletse (Stuart Pagaduan) looked around at the estimated 200 people, many from the island’s settler community, and joked, “We must have a lot of relatives here that we don’t know about. A lot.” It was impossible to not be impacted by both the tone and content of what Simuletse was sharing.
gail sjuberg photo
Take a listen to this excerpt: “Our biggest strengths in our community are not individual. Our biggest strengths are family. Everyone here had a job to do this morning. I was watching, from the youngest to the oldest, and that is how we should all work together. Not so much following, as the elders say, but working together as one. Be mindful and not let anybody do all the work. You should step forward with your good spirit. You should step forward and volunteer your time and your efforts. And it’s not about who’s doing what. It’s about everybody coming together as one. As one spirit. That is what today is about.” It’s just one example of how the importance of family, relations, community and co-operation were stressed that day. Quw’utsun singers and drummers, and Tzinquaw dancers Tousilum (Ron George) and his nephew Benny George provided rich sights and sounds for the ceremony. Simuletse thanked his relatives for the opening song. “That heartbeart of the people echoes out through this bay. I think about our ancestors and how amazing that drum sound must be to them. Of awakening that spirituality again. Waking up this land.” Everyone participated in the final act, a “friendship dance,” and it was followed by a community feast. The poles themselves were created under the leadership of master carver Harold Joe Sr. and three apprentices, with indigenous youth and school groups also part of the work. Funding came from the First Peoples’ Cultural Council.
Lydia George helps Simuletse (Stuart Pagaduan) get ready to lead the Quw'utsun Tribes welcome-pole-unveiling ceremony this past summer. Previous page, from top: Tzinquaw Dancers Tsoulim (Ron George), left, and Benny George; drummers Benji George, left, and Marvin George Campbell.
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Youth camp kids get paddling lessons at Cusheon lake courtesy of Island Escapades staff.
Page 10 – AQUA – October/November 2016
The Aug. 20 event was not the first time that members of the Quw’utsun Tribes had hosted islanders at Xwaaqw’um (pronounced “Who-auck-wum”), considered the heart of their territory, and shared their thoughts, wisdom, music, dance, food and humour in the past two years. In the spring of 2015, under the instigation of Joe Akerman, a series of indigenous-led cultural gatherings began to occur in Burgoyne Bay Park. Akerman became well-known as a leader of the 2014-15 campaign to stop construction of a private home on Grace Islet in Ganges Harbour, where aboriginal burial cairns exist. Akerman is the grandson of the late Bob Akerman, who spent his entire life in the Burgoyne Valley, maintained a museum and nurtured his First Nations heritage. Joe Akerman’s Quw’utsun name is T’awaxwultun, which is the male version of T'awaxhiye, the name of his ancestor also known as Mary Ann Gyves, who was born and raised at Xwaaqw’um. Akerman connected with indigenous ways of being through the five years he spent living with his grandfather, and he continues to learn from Quw’utsun elders and knowledge keepers. “What I see as my role is to provide safe spaces for elders and knowledge keepers, and youth and community, to re-engage on their traditional territories,” Akerman told me during a recent interview at Xwaaqw’um.
Pi'kwun BBQ salmon at Coast Salish Days in Ganges in February of 2016.
jen maclellan photo
“An archaeological reconnaissance of adjacent Mount Maxwell Ecological Reserve (McLay, 2003) noted the significance of the Burgoyne Bay area as: “. . . a Coast Salish cultural landscape. Mount Maxwell is honoured in the Hul’q’umi’num’ language as Hwmet’utsum, translated as “Bent Over Place.” Hwmet’utsum is perceived by many Hul’q’umi’num’ elders as a powerful storied place that holds intangible significance for Coast Salish cultural identity, spiritual practice and land tenure. The cultural landscape of Hwmet’utsum is inseparably connected through myth and place name to the creation era of Xeel’s and an epic primordial battle between supernatural beings (stl’eluqum), known as Sheshuq’um and Smoqw’uts. “The Burgoyne Bay area protects cultural and heritage values from thousands of years of First Nations activity . . . First Nations people continue to access the area to hunt ducks and avail themselves of other seasonal and permanent resources, including camas beds, wild clover beds, a red ochre rock for paint, a chum and coho salmon stream, salal and other berries, herring and sea mammals.”
courtesy joe akerman
Excerpt from Burgoyne Bay Park Management Plan, BC Parks, March 2015
“The project is about continuing and enhancing indigenous ways of being on the land and SEA AND with each other.”
Joe Akerman with the female welcome pole at Xwaaqw'um.
gail sjuberg photo
— T’awaxwultun (Joe Akerman) As the expanded cultural events at Xwaaqw’um unfolded in 2015 under the guidance of elders Luschiim (Arvid Charlie) and Tousilum (Ron George) and supported by many others, a feasibility study about what continuing and additional activities might be undertaken as the Xwaaqw’um Project was funded by the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres. “The project is about continuing and enhancing indigenous ways of being on the land and sea and with each other,” Akerman explained. “The core goal is to have everything we do feed back into providing opportunities to indigenous youth and to re-engage with culture and ways of life that have been forcibly removed from indigenous communities and people based on racist colonial government and church policies over the majority of the existence of so-called Canada.” Summer camps for indigenous youth based at Xwaaqw’um took place during the past two summers, with Quw’utsun elders and knowledge keepers leading most of the sessions. Activities included learning about sound healing through indig-
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Page 12 – AQUA – October/November 2016
enous instruments, cedar weaving, drum hide preparation, hunting and fishing techniques, clam garden restoration, intertidal learning and plant medicine walks. “This year we added hip hop and spoken word instruction led by indigenous knowledge keepers,” he said. Workshops for all ages also took place in 2015 with the focus of monthly activities being cross-cultural. Some 40 Salt Springers attended a drumming and sound healing workshop led by Hwiemtum (Fred Roland). Twelve people learned cedar-weaving and basket making from Sulsaymeethl (Deb George) and Tousilum, while 32 came to a drum-making and hide-preparation workshop led by Tousilum and Akerman. Other activities ranged from potlucks and storytelling sessions to camas planting and environmental restoration efforts. This past year focused on activities for school groups. One of those saw 180 kids attend a Gulf Islands School District cultural education day. The Redfish School of Change, a field school that's a collaboration between UVic and Western Washington University, participated in discussions and workshops at Xwaaqw’um. “There’s a renewed sense of trust and solidarity with a wide variety of opportunities to learn from the people of these lands, which hasn’t always been the case,” said Akerman.
gail sjuberg photo
“Indigenous youth in the Cowichan Valley and through Coastal and Straits Salish lands experience high level of poverty, including housing challenges, low employment and instances of suicide. Racism is still common and many elders and their descendants still suffer the many negative impacts of residential schools . . . in the face of daunting adversity, Quw’utsun elders and other leaders are developing landbased cultural programs to empower youth and the community. “Indigenous resurgence at Xwaaqw’um supports Hul’q’umi’num culture, language and healthy stewardship of the land, water and all relations at Xwaaqw’um through aboriginal youth camps, reconciliation workshops and other indigenous community activities. It provides a unique opportunity for indigenous youth to learn about Hul’q’umi’num culture and teachings in a natural environment outside of the city. It’s also a place where they can gain life skills and workplace competencies. The participation of non-indigenous peoples at many of the gatherings fosters strong cross-cultural learning that helps reduce stereotypes and promotes reconciliation.”
courtesy joe akerman
Excerpt from the executive summARY background of the Xwaaqw’um (Burgoyne Bay) Traditional Use Project - Feasibility Study
jen maclellan photo
“I think about our ancestors and how amazing that drum sound must be to them.” — Simuletse Above: Hwiemtum (Fred Roland) mends his cedar hat at a June 18, 2016 cultural gathering at Xwaaqw'um. Previous page, from top: Medicine woman Della Rice-Sylvester teaches youth camp participants; master carver Harold Joe Sr. speaks at the Aug. 20, 2016 welcome pole ceremony. Page 14: Friendship dance is quickly embraced by ceremony attendees.
Akerman’s family relations and other Hul’q’uminum people have used the Xwaaqw’um area and other parts of Salt Spring for millennia; not only for seasonal resource harvesting but as places to live, contrary to common belief. “There were no less than four longhouses down here, according to Quw’utsun elders,” he said. The idea that indigenous people were just “visiting” the Gulf Islands somehow “let’s us off the hook” when it comes to justifying settlers’ pre-emption of the land, he notes. “That way we can say ‘There is no indigenous history here and if there was it was sporadic and thousands of years ago and not permanent in more recent contact-era times,’ which is false.” Akerman stresses that despite policies of relocation, assimilation and cultural genocide, local indigenous people continue
to practise land-based harvesting and ceremony. The cultural revitalization occurring at Xwaaqw’um now is in fact a continuance of what he calls reciprocal relationships with the land. The provincial government’s Burgoyne Bay Park Management Plan also acknowledges that is the case. (See plan excerpt on Page 10.) The placing of male and female welcome poles on the park's shoreline this summer is an important step in the Quw’utsun people’s reclaiming of the space, said Akerman. “[The pole figures] are looking after the land night and day and holding that space for everybody who comes down and enjoys these areas.” Akerman is grateful that his family members and other First Nations people have been so receptive to opportunities to educate non-indigenous Canadians. “What a gift and what grace for indigenous elders and knowledge keepers
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 13
to keep coming back to share stories and knowledge of these lands. To be so patient with settlers and to continue to share and engage in good faith after all the shit-storm of destructive policies that have been thrown at them.” He also observes that “As the truth is slowly revealed in this country, more and more people are willing to decolonize their minds and learn from local indigenous ways of being. We can all benefit from confronting the privilege we’ve gained on the backs of indigenous people. We can be free thinkers and not just succumb again and again to a dominant male, Christian, European societal structure and beliefs about how our relationships should
be with the land and each other.” What shape future cultural revitalization activities will take at Xwaaqw’um has not yet been determined, but Akerman will no doubt continue to be a facilitator. He will also keep challenging us to re-educate ourselves, to confront our privilege and find ways to make positive change. “We can all contribute to healing relationships by supporting indigenous cultural resurgence in our own back yard. We all have gifts, passions, spheres of influence and resources — financial and otherwise — that will be happily accepted on our shared journey.” For more information, contact xwaaqwum@gmail.com.
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Farming
Living the Dream Healthy food, heart and innovation at Bright Farm By ROGER BRUNT Photos by Jen MacLellan
A
t Jessica Kavanaugh and John Pattison’s Bright Farm on Tripp Road, across from St. Mary Lake, swallows swoop above the laneway and in and out of the old barn while a golden light hangs above the fields. A halfdozen laying hens rush over, hoping for
a treat, while Josephine and Olivia meet me at the pasture gate. They are shy, but curious. No, these are not this couple’s daughters, they are Bright Farm’s two mascot llamas, partly ornamental, partly adorable. They also serve a purpose. They are guard animals.
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 15
Above: Olivia the llama. At right: John Pattison weighs greens. Page 15, from top: Pattison and Jessica Kavanaugh walk up the driveway at Bright Farm; Kavanaugh at the gate.
Page 16 – AQUA – October/November 2016
“I’ve seen them chase a mink across the yard,” Pattison says, “and they certainly can deter stray cats and dogs and raccoons. When you have two flocks (meat birds and laying hens) of chickens like we do, they play an important role on the farm.” An important role. That’s a reassuring thought in a world with so much trouble. “This farm is all about life,” says Kavanaugh. “It’s about connections. It’s about our food and our health, and our community and our dreams. It’s about the freshness of what we eat, and its goodness. Bright Farm is organic certified. We can step out the door and pick vegetables and berries and fruit and nuts so fresh that ladybugs still cling to them. We gather our own eggs and live with the seasons. To John and I, organic means far more than no pesticides or additives or chemical fertilizers in our food. It permeates our whole way of life.” And indeed, it is a life to envy. Bright Farm is right next to Duck Creek Farm, where pioneering farmer John Wilcox created his dream-come-true before he passed away in 2012, and that same feeling of abundance spills over the old fences and hedgerows. Bright Farm is 10 acres (I guessed 50 and sometimes, Kavanaugh says, it feels like way). Part of the farm is where the heritage apple trees — more than 300 varieties — were planted in the 1990s when they were moved to Salt Spring Island. The property is also dotted with fruit and nut trees dating back much farther in time. “This farm was among the very first pioneered on Salt Spring,” Pattison tells me. “The main house, where farm owner Charlie Eagle lives, was built in 1890. Many of the trees date back to this time and are still as productive as ever. In the fall we have a beauty and abundance that is overwhelming in its variety and goodness. This allows the farm to produce not only fresh fruit from quince to pears to apples to plums, but gallons and gallons of fresh organic juice as well.” Aside from the fruit and nut trees, both new and old, the farm is a joy to behold. Row upon row of market garden vegetables ripen under the summer sun: tomatoes, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, artichoke, summer squash, peas, beans, salad greens and many more. Three large greenhouses burst with life and, unlike many larger-scale operations, they are purposely far from immaculate. At the end of one row of greens is a giant flowering bush that is simply a carrot allowed to go to seed for the blossoms it produces that are so loved by all the beneficial insects. “We rely on nature, right down to our closed-loop compost system,” Pattison continues. “We use living and organic mulches that are a host to a multitude of beneficial insects, as well as being non-polluting, water saving and free. We use companion plantings, sometimes for the benefits to the soil and the plants, and sometimes for the sheer beauty of it.” I noticed this in the first field by the farm gate, where beautiful heirloom barley is interspersed with beans and salad greens like a page out of a book by Dan Jason or Michael Ableman on sustainable agriculture. Along one field edge is a long row of marigolds, planted not only for the beneficial insects they attract but also for the sheer beauty of their flowers. Neither Kavanaugh nor Pattison have an agricultural background. They did not grow up on farms. They grew up in Calgary and developed a strong desire for a closer connection to Mother Earth and Mother Nature and a pure way to live. That is what drew them to Salt Spring Island. “We were so lucky to meet Charlie Eagle,” Kavanaugh says. “We had just completed our farm apprenticeship program and were looking for farmland to lease. Charlie helped make this dream possible for us, just as he has done for other young farmers on Salt Spring Island.” At the present time, Kavanaugh and Pattison are living in the loft above the barn; it’s a cozy space that many would consider small.
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Thousands of books in great condition PLUS amazing pre-loved jewellery. October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 17
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“We rely on nature, right down to our closed-loop compost system.” – JOHN PATTISON “We got rid of a lot of stuff to come here,” Kavanaugh says. “Some of our friends thought we were crazy. But just look around. All this richness. Ask yourself, who are the crazy ones?” Crazy ones indeed! Gathered around a small poultry shed as if at a Shriners’ convention is a flock of meat birds, mostly roosters, their dappled feathers aglow in the morning light. “We prefer the slower-growing breeds like these Sasso chickens,” Pattison says. “They take 12 weeks rather than the six to eight weeks of the commercial meat bird to reach their full size. They can be grown with less complications, like the heart attacks or deformities of the commercial varieties, and they develop better flavour. Our laying hens are an old heritage breed too, Rhode Island Reds. The meat birds are not the foragers the way laying hens are; it’s interesting that they have such different personalities. To most of us, a chicken is a chicken. Before we came here it was like that for us too.” That’s an advantage that Kavanaugh and Pattison have. Because they are approaching all this with “new eyes” they notice things, and there is lots of room for fresh ideas and experimentation along with all the traditional
market garden veggies they sell at the Tuesday and Saturday farmers’ markets. There are rows of plants in their gardens that I have never seen before, including cap gooseberries, also known as ground cherries, and sunberry, a heavy-producing annual in the nightshade family with a sweet, tart taste. The last thing I see as I close the big farm gate beneath the signature walnut tree that seems to mark the end of the driveways of so many of these old farms is Pattison and Kavanaugh strolling hand-in-hand back up the lane past their verdant gardens. They are a determined young couple who are living the dream that haunts so many of us: a dream to live close to the land in a self-sustaining, non-polluting way that is based on the weather and the seasons and is sustainable so it can go on forever. In the golden light of early morning, silhouetted against the clear blue sky and framed by the branches of the already heavily-laden fruit trees, they look like they have been cast in amber, trapped forever in an old sepiatoned photograph that might have been discovered in the bottom of some long-forgotten trunk. “Oh life,” I sigh. “How the world aches for this!”
Above: John Pattison at Bright Farm. Below, from left: Jonagold apples, a free-ranging Lakenvelder chicken, tomatoes in the greenhouse and green and red romaine lettuce growing in the garden in early September.
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 19
Culture
Recovering a Landscape Clam garden learning feeds connections to the past Story and photos by SEAN MCINTYRE
Sophie Claxton holds a handful of small crabs n site. collected from the Fulford Harbour clam garde
Maggie Sam pres ents a sea cucum ber discovered among the rock s of an ancient cla m garden seawall The structure is . seen in the back ground photo ab ove.
Page 20 – AQUA – October/November 2016
Seen from the deck of a passing ferry, the Fulford Harbour shoreline blends seamlessly into a landscape of cedar and sea. But a walk along the beach north of Isabella Point offers visitors a new perspective into the region’s distant past. When the tide recedes, keen-eyed beachcombers can spot a rocky reef about 50 metres offshore. The anomaly parallels the harbour’s shoreline for several hundred metres. Donning gumboots for a closer look amidst the rocks reveals all manner of sea creatures. There are sea cucumbers, red rock crabs, red turban snails, whelks and little molluscs called chitons.
Researchers have determined structures like this were constructed by First Nations people in the Salish Sea and all along B.C.’s coastline. Tests show some of the rock walls are up to 1,000 years old. It’s widely believed the stones were placed by the region’s first inhabitants to tame the wild coast and provide a secure and reliable food source. Once a wall is in place, the ebb and flow of countless tides drops sand and broken shells along the shoreline side of the wall, forming a garden that promotes the cultivation of clams and other aquatic species. Staff with Parks Canada say juvenile little neck clams can grow up to 17 times faster and have higher survival rates than similar species in non-walled areas. Clam gardens near Quadra
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 21
“Getting them out on the land is a nice fit for all sorts of educational and cultural reasons.” — TYE SWALLOW
Island have been shown to produce up to four times as many butter clams and twice as many littleneck clams than non-walled beaches. Researchers have identified hundreds of clam gardens along the coast, but it’s hard to say how many more are out there. Storms, currents and the shift away from traditional food sources have left many of the clam garden formations in severe disrepair, and many have been reclaimed by the landscape. By focusing on a handful of gardens in the Salish Sea, Parks Canada staff working in conjunction with representatives from the region’s First Nations are building a clearer picture of how the areas sustained early inhabitants and established a rich ecosystem. “This is the first time it’s been done, so we’re learning. We’re finding the answers to a lot of questions,” said Skye Augustine, coordinator of Parks Canada’s clam garden restoration project, during a clam garden work party held in Fulford Harbour earlier this summer. “We are working together to restore the first two clam gardens in modern time.” Augustine, who is from the Stz’uminus Nation on Vancouver Island, is leading a five-year project alongside coastal First Nations to study how clam gardens affect intertidal ecosystems. Her work is uncovering valuable information about the importance clam gardens played in the history of coastal British Columbia and helps revitalize an awareness of and respect for the values and practices of indigenous people. The discovery of clam gardens, for example, suggests that First Nations along the coast historically managed or farmed the marine ecosystem, a perspective that contradicts the commonly held belief about their reliance on wild, untended food sources. “We’re doing it as an experiment to bring people back onto the beaches again, to improve the area’s ecological health and the cultural connections,” Augustine said.
Learning from the land Augustine said indigenous knowledge keepers suggest such areas offered vital food sources and provided a place for elders to pass along important cultural traditions. By tending the clam gardens in a community, new generations learned about sustainable food systems, ecology, cultural values, cosmology, economics and the importance of family. Clam gardens provided an open-air classroom where students acquired valuable life lessons about respect, tradition and language. It’s a teaching tool many educators are trying to revive. And it’s why Augustine’s early summer work party on Salt Spring includes about 40 students from Tsartlip, a First Nations community located across Satellite Channel on the Saanich Peninsula. The students, some as young as five or six, are dispersed in groups to various stations along the rocky clam garden wall. “Do you know what’s inside that sea cucumber?” asks one of the WSÁNEC instructors. “They’re 95 per cent water.” As if on cue, the slimy potato-like invertebrate jirbles a jet of sea water toward an unsuspecting student. The creatures once formed an important part of the diet of the Coast Salish people, but nobody in the group can recall ever tasting one. Placing the cucumber back in the sea, students may not get to savour the treat, but they’ll leave with an experience that links them to their ancestors, and they’ve learned a new word. “Thikt,” that’s Sencoten for "sea cucumber," is among the many new terms students learn along the clam garden wall. The new vocabulary complements the young students’ growing lexicon of Sencoten words. Teachers, like the WSÁNEC School Board’s Tye Swallow, say the experience highlights another culturally significant aspect of the clam gardens’ resurrection. “Getting them out on the land is a nice fit for all sorts of educational and Page 22 – AQUA – October/November 2016
cultural reasons,” he said. “It’s quite dire. The language has been classified as nearly extinct, so any chance these guys can get is a wonderful opportunity.” When the school’s language program began nearly a decade ago, teachers could only find about 25 Sencoten speakers. Since then, many of those elders have died, but the school’s immersion program has given more than 50 students in kindergarten to Grade 3 a solid start in the language. It’s hoped this new generation of Sencoten speakers will eventually pass along their language and rekindle a proud identity nearly wiped out by centuries of institutionalized discrimination. “It’s not just what’s in the clam garden for harvesting and traditional uses,” said Penac, a Sencoten language and cultural assistant. “There are stories that tag along, that go hand in hand with these places. It’s really a lifestyle thing for us, it’s not just our job. We take the language as our responsibility.” The clam gardens that have been discovered, researched and rebuilt across the Salish Sea are but one example of the many ways First Nations groups are reconnecting with a rich past. Continued work by Parks Canada staff, Tsartlip residents and others in areas like Isabella Point and nearby Russell Island give students of all ages an unprece-
From left, students Maggie Sam and Joey Jack are introduced to some of the many species found in the clam garden by Kelly Forbes, a Parks Canada resource conservation officer. Previous page: Children get specimen collection bags from Forbes.
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Serving Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 23
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Activism
BY ELIZABETH NOLAN Photos by Jen MacLellan
Housing First IWAV looks at long-term needs to better fulfill mandate
Island Women Against Violence board and staff members with tools needed to get to work on creating safe, affordable housing for women and children.
I
sland Women Against Violence (IWAV) is moving toward a more comprehensive strategy for aiding women and children whose lives have been affected by poverty, violence and abuse. They're doing that by putting the focus on one of the most basic human necessities: having a safe, healthy place to life. For nearly 25 years the Salt Springbased non-profit society has worked to provide crucial resources for women and their children throughout the Southern Gulf Islands. Successes have included a crisis hotline, counselling and outreach programs, a transition house for women leaving abusive relationships and second-stage housing. Most recently IWAV has added the operation of Croftonbrook, a 20-suite subsidized housing complex in Ganges for lower-income seniors and people with disabilities. Now the leadership is looking at how they can extend their wrap-around service. “While our continuum of services assists the women and children fleeing violence and abuse to seek safe haven and counselling supports to gain independence, the critical gap we see in our community is longer-term safe and affordable housing,” explains IWAV’s executive director Dana Peace. The lack of affordable housing is a significant concern for many islanders, she observes, but is particularly critical for more vulnerable segments of the population. Housing and violence have been shown to be key determinants of women’s health, while research suggests stable housing can mitigate the negative health consequences caused by violence. “Unfortunately, we see far too many women leave our transition house with no identified safe or affordable place to go, leaving many of the families to couch surf with family or friends, go on to cycle through other transition houses, tent camp or return to the abusive situation,” Peace says. “Given the serious shortage of safe and affordable rental units on Salt Spring, there is an increasing risk of homelessness and risks to safety for these vulnerable populations.” October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 27
“Every one of us can understand how critical it is to have a safe place to live and call home. We recognize that this is a desperate need in our community, and we are giving our attention to this housing crisis,” she adds. “IWAV envisions people living free from poverty, violence and abuse. We cannot imagine this ‘culture of peace’ without first and foremost having a safe place to live.” IWAV recently completed an up-to-date Affordable Housing Needs Study on Salt Spring in partnership with the Salt Spring Island Housing Council, in a project commissioned by the Salt Spring Foundation. The organization is perhaps ideally positioned to craft a strategy in response: IWAV has provided second-stage transitional housing for women and their children, as well as permanent housing for low-income senior women, in partnership with the Salt Spring Abbeyfield Housing Society since 2012. IWAV took over the management and operations of Croftonbrook in the spring of 2015. “While IWAV’s projects add a number of affordable housing units to the housing stock on Salt Spring Island, we know that the demand greatly exceeds the availability,” Peace says.
Roberta Temmel, manager of Transitions Thrift Store, which helps fund IWAV projects.
You Can Help Other ways to support the Island Women Against Violence Society: Anyone who shops at or donates to Transitions Thrift Store is already doing so. Purchases and donated items support all of IWAV’s service programs and help invest in future projects. It’s also possible to make a one-time, monthly, memory gift or planned giving donation to IWAV. Contributions will ensure that women who are in an abusive relationship, and their children, have support, a safe and caring place to stay, and hope for the future. Donors can also give securely online through IWAV’s account with Canada Helps, or host their own event and donate part proceeds to the organization. Call the admin office at 250-537-1867 for more information.
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Vancouver Island’s only dedicated soapstone shop, located in beautiful Maple Bay, BC! Page 28 – AQUA – October/November 2016
IWAV executive director Dana Peace with a poster of her group's logo.
Public support and fundraising will continue to be a major part of IWAV’s activities and celebrations as the focus turns to housing as a key determinant of health and well-being. The Building Peace, Building Homes fundraising event taking place at ArtSpring on Tuesday, Nov. 29 will be a prime opportunity for community members to help those efforts and learn more about local needs and solutions. “Clearly more funding is required to support affordable housing initiatives and we are encouraged to see both the federal and provincial governments pledge investments in affordable housing,” Peace says. Peace and the IWAV board believe partnerships and collaboration are key to addressing the need. “We have a unique opportunity in the Salt Spring community to leverage the creativity and commitment that exists among community members and organizations toward intentional dialogue to seek solutions,” Peace says. “The serious problems today require that we be smart together, that we gather our best collective thinking and put it to work in our communities.” As homage to IWAV’s first fundraising gala in 2011, the Building Peace, Building Homes event will include an array of gourmet and locally made appetizers and will feature poetry readings by Peter Levitt
and Lorna Crozier. Marion Pape and Ahava Shira are co-MCs, while John Bateman is the special guest live auctioneer. Tickets will be available at Transitions Thrift Store, Salt Spring Books and at the door at ArtSpring.
Building Peace, Building Homes Fundraiser ArtSpring – Tuesday, Nov. 29 Doors open at 6:30 p.m., starts at 7 p.m. Featuring poets Peter Levitt and Lorna Crozier and MCs Marion Pape and Ahava Shira. Special guest live auctioneer – John Bateman. Tickets $30 - include gourmand treats and poetry readings.
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at Norgarden October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 29
Arts
Serious Ceramics
October exhibit highlights regional artists By GAIL SJUBERG Photos by Jen MacLellan
Excitement is building for the first biennial Salt Spring Island Ceramic Awards, with the exhibition opening at Mahon Hall on Salt Spring Island on Thursday, Oct. 6 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. The show itself runs daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Oct. 16, and the gala awards
event is on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. For this project presented by the Salt Spring Island Potters Guild, three jurors considered some 143 digital submissions by Vancouver Island and Gulf Islands artists (without knowing the names attached to the submissions), choosing 64 for the exhibit.
Accepted artists and their place of residence:
1
2 Page 30 – AQUA – October/November 2016
• Brentwood Bay: Monika Burrell • Campbell River: Emma Heintzman • Comox: Meg Burgess • Courtenay: Maeva Collins • Denman Island: Dante Ambriel, Tashi Draper • Duncan: Franziska Ditter, Anthony Mochizuki, Susan Whitham, Cathi Jefferson
• Fanny Bay: Gillian Turner, Alan Burgess • Gabriola Island: Joy Olsen • Galiano Island: Kasumi Lampitoc, Sandra Dolph • Ladysmith: Mary Fox • Nanaimo: Sandy Harquail • Quadra Island: Martha James • Salt Spring Island: Anne Byrne, Denys James, Margo Zak,
Sue McKenzie, LeeAnn Norgard, E.J. Feller, Joan Werner, Claire Olivier, Tracy Harrison, Pat Webber, Wendy Squirrel, Kathleen Raven • Sooke: Glenys MarshallInman, Vincent Fe • Union Bay: Jeanne MacGrotty • Victoria: Faro Annie Sullivan, Sarah Leckie, Beth McMillin, Samantha Dickie
Other ceramic arts events will take place during the awards exhibit period. The Salt Spring Island Potters Guild will mount a Harvest Offerings show of work by its members at the Salt Spring Gallery on McPhillips Avenue in Ganges, and workshops and a panel discussion will also be held. The Salt Spring Arts Council is a valued partner in presenting the workshops. “The aim behind the event series and awards is to strengthen the profile of the guild and bring more attention to ceramics as an art form and craft in this region,” says Patricia Gibson, an awards steering committee member. See www.saltspringpottersguild.com/ceramic-awards for up-to-date event information and how to register for workshops, if space is still available.
3
4 Previous page, at top: Salt Spring Island Potters Guild member LeeAnn Norgard's hands create a new vessel on the wheel.
5 Page 30-31 pottery by Salt Spring guild members as numbered: 1. Kuno Egger 2. LeeAnn Norgard 3. Margo Zak 4. Kathleen Raven 5. Anne Byrne. Note: These pieces are not related to the awards event. They're just examples of some guild members' work.
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 31
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Sidney, A Town of Experiences
Over the past few years, Sidney has become known as one of the most unique shopping districts on Vancouver Island. It is a true fashion haven, drawing shoppers from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond, each shopper looking for that special look, that unique design, or one of a kind accessory. Men’s, women’s and children’s fashions—Sidney’s got it all. Stroll Sidney’s downtown core and be amazed at the quality and diversity of apparel available in this beautiful seaside Town. Whether you are looking for something with flair or a more traditional look, Sidney’s fashion and shoe shops provide incredible choice. And while you are enjoying your Sidney outing, take a few minutes to have a drink and a bite to eat at one of Sidney’s bustling cafes and restaurants. Sidney enjoys a rich coffee culture—from the familiar chains to locally owned and operated shops. Each has its own particular vibe, great snacks and sandwiches, and friendly staff and patrons. Take time to soak up the ambiance—as well as that special coffee, tea or treat!
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Mentioning treats, why not enjoy lunch or dinner at one of Sidney fine restaurants either before or after your shopping excursion. Celebrating a wide variety of cuisines, Sidney offers multiple great eating spots, several overlooking the beautiful Salish Sea. Shopping for gifts in Sidney is special too. With so many possibilities, you’ll want to explore the downtown core with care! From the finest in chocolates and sweets, to stunning bouquets of flowers, to locally-made soaps and cosmetic products, to stunning art work and unique cards, Sidney really does have it all. And remember, Sidney is Canada’s only Booktown, proudly boasting more books shops per capita than anywhere else in Canada! For additional details, check out distinctlysidney.ca
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AQUA GULF ISLANDS
LIVING
Next Edition November 30 Ad Deadline October 28
Aqua is distributed throughout the Gulf Islands, Victoria, the Cowichan Valley and select retail locations on Vancouver Island. Contact: toll free 1-877-537-9934 On Salt Spring call 250-537-9933 RE A D A Q U A ON - LINE G ULFISL A NDS A Q U A . COM
Volunteerism
More than a Cultural Hub The story of the Pender Islands Community Hall Story and photos by Hans Tammemagi
P
ender Islands’ attractive post-and-beam, two-storey community hall, which sits, appropriately, on a major intersection near the centre of the north island, is the heart and soul of the Penders. “The hall is critically important for the community,” says Derek Masselink, a North Pender islands trustee. “The way it was conceived and built shows how much it matters to us.” Masselink summed it up well, for islanders are continuously parading to the hall for an enormous spectrum of events, including the Saturday farmers market, the annual fall fair, concerts, movie nights, art exhibitions, seminars and lectures, dances, weddings, yoga, taoist tai chi and fitness classes, summer camp for youngsters, card games, lunches, carpet bowling, meetings of island organizations, a café for French speakers and much more. The story of the hall started in 1995 when the “Gang of Eight” led by Karl Hamson approached the Pender Island Recreation and Agricultural Hall Association with a proposal to build a new hall. As always in a small community, funding was a key obstacle. Luckily, local groups and individuals stepped forward and donated their time, money and materials. Hamson donated a three-acre parcel of land. Other residents donated large trees for the log post-and-beam construction. Several fundraising events were held. Grant applications went out. The Nu-to-Yu store donated an astounding $80,000. Nothing would have happened without volunteers. Countless “free” hours were contributed to raising funds, constructing the hall and landscaping its grounds. A lot of love went into building the hall. Over the ensuing five years trees were felled. Volunteers salvaged timbers from the reconstruction of the bridge linking North and South Pender. Foundations were poured. Posts were raised onto their footings. The flooring, recycled from a former Vancouver shipyard, was laid down. Trusses were lifted into place. The metal roof was installed. Interior walls October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 35
“The Bear Mother Project gave us a beautiful way to honour the First Nations people who had come to Pender Island thousands of years before European settlers.” – Doreen Ball
were erected; electricity and plumbing installed. The kitchen was filled with commercial quality equipment. Finally, the Bear Mother welcoming poles completed the entranceway. In April 2000, the hall officially opened. The 7,000-square-foot hall has the appearance of a modified barn, which was inspired by Hamson’s workshop/barn where several community dances had been held in earlier years. There is another, fascinating story behind the hall: the creation of the three large carved cedar welcome poles at the entranceway, the most moving project ever conducted on Pender Island. In 1998, with the hall construction well underway, the Bear Mother Project was formed: it was decided the women of Pender would carve three First Nations welcome poles for the entranceway. Victor Reece, a noted artist, master carver and storyteller from the Tsimshian First Nation, led the project. He chose bears for the poles as a way to honour the matriarchs in his family, and so the women working with him could honour the special women in their lives. All women were welcome and the group members were an eclectic mixture of all ages and backgrounds. An important goal was to create a lasting legacy that would pay tribute to the women who came before and gave life, inspiration, encouragement and talents to those who followed. In one bear mother myth, a young woman is spirited away and goes to live with a bear family. Since she yearns to return to her human family, it is agreed she will spend part of the year with the bears and part with humans. This represents the integration of cultures which Victor felt was a metaphor for what the project was trying to achieve. The central pole is a mother bear and cub. The other two poles are female bears. Page 36 – AQUA – October/November 2016
Above and top left: Pender community members bring cedar logs to the hall in 1998. At right: Islanders of all ages work to create the welcome poles. Next page: The Mother Bear and her cub. Page 35, from top: Pender Islands Community Hall today; the three welcome poles of the Bear Mother Project.
Reece guided the women in indigenous procedures. They made 18 sets of carving tools and a sharpening station ensured the tools maintained sharp edges. Three large logs were donated by three island families and dedicated to matriarchs in their families. For 22 months the women met twice a week and “hacked and yacked,” slowly giving life to the bears on the three poles, while learning about First Nations culture, traditions and history. Once complete, a huge crowd attended the unveiling ceremony, which included native dancing, singing and smudging with sweetgrass. “The Bear Mother Project gave us a beautiful way to honour the First Nations people who had come to Pender Island thousands of years before European settlers,” says Doreen Ball, the pole captain. “Victor gave us such a gift, which built community in a profound way. It was a very emotional, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us.” The operation of the hall and its large program of activities — no simple task — is the responsibility of the PIRAHA, which has a volunteer, 12-person board of directors. Dianne Allison, the chairperson, has been on the board for more than a decade. “I joined the board because I was worried such a valuable asset, where the community gathers and celebrates so many things, might close,” she says. The hall employs five part-time staff: maintenance person, grounds keeper, janitor, bookkeeper and the key person, program coordinator Andrea Mills, who has introduced numerous programs. “The hall is a fantastic venue for community activities and wellness. It breaks down barriers so we can all interact better,” she says. She is particularly proud of a new collaborative weekly community lunch that will include music and recreation. She is assisted by three young interns. The hall receives income from rentals, grants, fundraising and donations, which are tax deductible since PIRAHA is a registered charitable organization. “In the early years we struggled to make ends meet,” recalls Allison. “About six years ago we introduced a surcharge of $1 on tickets sold by organizations using the hall. That simple step solved most of our financial problems; it made a big difference.” A generator was recently installed, although fundraising is still continuing. Another project will see improvements to the parking lot. “The generator will create opportunities for the hall to work with emergency services, perhaps as a staging area. Our central location and earthquake-resistant structure help in this,” says Allison. The Pender Islands Community Hall is the central hub for events on the Pender Islands. Set on the edge of a forest next to farmlands, the hall reflects the long First Nations presence in the Gulf Islands and fits perfectly into the Pender Island ambience: attractive, warm and welcoming. October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 37
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Page 38 – AQUA – October/November 2016
Comfort Food
Colleen’s cooking From South African flavours to chocolate STORY & PHOTO BY MARCIA JANSEN
You’d be surprised by how many different nationalities live on Salt Spring Island. And each one of them has their own comfort food.
Marcia Jansen is a Dutch journalist and writer who has lived on Salt Spring since 2012.
Colleen Bowen moved from Cape Town, South Africa to Canada in 1988; from 35° above to 35° below Celsius. “I met my Canadian husband in Cape Town. He asked me to come visit him in Jasper and I’ve never left. That’s what you do when you’re in love,” 63-yearold Colleen smiles. “I arrived in Jasper in springtime. The mountains, the turquoise lakes, the grizzly bears, it was all so incredibly beautiful. The winter was different. It took me a while to get used to the cold temperatures, but I learned to ski and skate on the lakes and learned to appreciate the winter time as well.” When she left her home country, South Africa was on the brink of a civil war. “It wasn’t a difficult choice to leave South Africa. It was before Nelson Mandela became president. He got released from prison in 1990, two years after I left, and the country was in turmoil back then. I found it hard to live in a country where three-quarters of the population is being discriminated against and where the gap between the poor and rich is so large. Some people can put blinkers on and live in gated communities, but I can’t. In all those years I’ve never thought of going back other than on a vacation, but wherever I live, my heart will always beat to an African drum.” Sixteen years ago, Colleen left Alberta and moved with her now 25-year-old daughter Sam to Salt Spring Island. “I came to Salt Spring for the first time during a kayak trip and ended up looking for a house. I wanted a new life for me and my daughter, a new horizon to explore. And after 16 years I still feel very fortunate that we can live in this beautiful place.”
Colleen Bowen at her Chocolate Cottage on Salt Spring.
In 2010 she bought a local chocolate business and started a new adventure. “I am a foodie and had my own restaurant in Jasper, Malowneys Wine Café. But I didn’t want to start a restaurant again. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also hard work. Especially when you live in a tourist community like Salt Spring Island. In summer it’s crazy busy and in winter you have to scramble to make a living.”
October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 39
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When she first arrived on Salt Spring, Colleen worked as the caterer, preparing gourmet meals for special occasions like weddings and yoga retreats. “But I needed a new baby,” she laughs. So she went to École Chocolat in Vancouver to become a master chocolatier. With the Salish Sea Chocolates Company, Colleen combines chocolate with art. She bought the art rights from Haida artist Jim Hart, which is the characteristic logo for her chocolate
bars that are sold in museums, gift shops, galleries and specialty food and health stores. Colleen loves to cook and is known for her culinary soirees and dinner parties. “I cook dishes from all over the world, but I still have a soft spot for the South African kitchen. It’s been influenced by Europeans, like the Dutch and their Indo-Asian workers, Cape Malay people. I love the Cape Malay cuisine. It’s spicy and exotic and often fruits are used in the recipes.”
Balsamic Chicken with Mushrooms and Sundried Cherries Ingredients: 2 c. local Pinot Noir 8 boneless and skinless chicken thighs 4 Tbsp. flour ½ lb. pancetta bacon 1 Tbsp. olive oil 2 onions (chopped)
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One of her favourite dishes, balsamic chicken with mushrooms and sundried cherries, reminds her of her home country but can be prepared with local Salt Spring ingredients. “It’s a very flavourful recipe that combines the saltiness of pancetta and the sweetness of cherries. I use local wine, my neighbour’s chicken, cherries out of my own garden and Cowichan Valley pancetta. I make it a lot. It’s the perfect summertime dish.”
Add cherries, Pinot Noir, vinegar, chicken stock, pancetta and chicken and simmer over medium-low heat for 30 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust with balsamic vinegar if necessary. Serve with green beans and mashed potatoes and, of course, a glass of local Pinot Noir.
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Community
Putting Out Fires Saturna Island’s Fire Department By CHERIE THIESSEN Photos courtesy Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department, except as noted
It was June 7, 2003, and the Saturna firefighters were on the scene, fighting a stubborn blaze flaring up at the government wharf adjacent to the B.C. Ferries dock at Lyall Harbour. Later photographs and char analysis indicated that the fire started under the wharf and was blown sideways under the nearby waiting room, making it very difficult for the crew to fight because of the intensity of the fire, the fact that the wharf was constructed of creosote-saturated wood and the position of the fire beneath the structure. But fight it they did, and successfully. Saturna Islanders were only without their precious water link to the world, B.C. Ferries, for less than 24 hours. Service resumed the next day, after technical staff inspected the dock and ramp, reporting that while there was some scorching, the facility was safe. However, the waiting room, washroom and generator shed at the terminal were all destroyed. Studies done after the fact indicated that the probable cause was a cigarette, carelessly dropped on a rotten piling and igniting it (Van Leeuwen and Associates, 2013). Given the hot, dry conditions and the fact that smoking was only permitted on the docks in that area, the conclusion seems apt.
A Tour With the Fire Chief Above: Don Grant, part-time resident of Saturna and a Surrey volunteer firefighter, in 1969 with the truck he had prepared for the island. It cost $500, including hose, nozzles, helmets and jackets. Grant was a substantial benefactor for Saturna emergency services. At top: Gear room in the building completed in 2011.
Brent Sohier is one of Saturna’s hot guys. He has only been the island’s fire chief for the past four years, but for eight years prior to that he was deputy chief. He doesn’t look old enough, but he tells me: “I’ve been on Saturna for 30 years and for 20 of them I’ve been on the fire department.” He figures that over the year he averages about 10 hours a week at the job; the rest of the time he works in construction. October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 43
Today he’s taking me on a tour of a surprisingly expansive and modern structure. “This is the main emergency services building. In here we have the Provincial Emergency Preparedness Program and its radio room, the firefighting services, the rescue services and ambulance, and Parks Canada.” The 7,000-square-foot disaster-proof two-storey building also contains an administration office, a meeting and training room, a gear room with ample hanging and storage space, and washrooms. The loading bay is home to a water tender, a rescue truck, a pumper, a rapid response vehicle and a command unit, recently purchased from Pender Island’s fire department.
A Building Plan is Born How a 31-square-kilometre island with around 350 permanent residents and approximately 1,000 more property owners ever acquired such a monument is a story in itself. The old building was too small for the firefighters to even store their gear in, let alone the fire truck, and the auxiliary fire vehicle serving East Point on the southern end of the island didn’t even have a building to park alongside. So, in 2005, heads came together on the Saturna Island Fire Protection Society to try to do the impossible. “The Saturna Island Fire Protection Society funds the training, purchase, repair and maintenance of equipment, buildings and supplies, and sets service policy, plans and budgets. It collects tax funds and reports to the community. Currently there are eight members on the board,” says Sohier, explaining how the SIFPS and the Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department are aligned. “Every taxpayer on the island is a general member of the society, and can attend the regular meetings and the AGM.”
Together they both form the Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department. The SIFPS board knew both a larger fire hall on the island’s more populated west side and a secondary shelter for the East Point service was needed, and they had to be acquired without emptying property owners’ pockets. Fortunately, Gulf Islands residents have a long history of pooling their skills and labour to get things done. Without the tax base to supply the services and amenities citizens simply expect in the city, islanders know all about volunteerism. So did SIFPS, drawing on the skills and strengths of all the volunteers while also keeping all islanders aware of what was going on every inch of the way. With considerable input, the board decided a multi-purpose building was the best option, with prepaid leases from Parks Canada and the Southern Gulf Islands Emergency Preparedness Commission providing some of the necessary up-front monies. In addition, a further $80,000 that been earmarked for the ambulance building could now be diverted. The decision to use metal pre-fabricated construction for the buildings at both sites also saved considerable monies while the revenue from the sale of the old fire hall along with the two long-term leases was further enhanced by a whopping $92,000 in community donations. Then it was time to visit the bankers. There’s more to the story, but this article is less about the construction than the happy outcome, a functional, spacious and well-used building that I’ll wager contributes to luring volunteer firefighters and instilling pride in the locals. Suffice to say that true to its promise, the society is paying off that bank loan ahead of schedule, and all this without any government grants. The auxiliary shelter now also houses a fire engine and water tender. (Saturna doesn’t have fire hydrants.)
Fourteen of the 22 volunteers of the Saturna Island Volunteer Fire Department.
Page 44 – AQUA – October/November 2016
A Volunteer Corps
Fighting Saturna Fires
I’m amazed that on an island with such a small population there are 22 volunteer firefighters. “It’s not a problem,” Sohier assures me. “About 90 per cent of the younger people here are firefighters. People know they have to help out on a small island.” When I ask how much time they put in, he explains: “They all have pagers, but no scheduled shifts. It’s up to everyone individually whether he or she responds or not, depending on whether they feel up to it. The ambulance has scheduled shifts but not the firefighters. We have a benefit plan that requires firefighters to put in 110 hours per year. That’s the only thing we have that is specific. You have to put in those hours to be eligible for that plan.” Meeting every Tuesday night from 7 to 9 p.m., the volunteers go through various exercises and reviews from hands-on to theory: rope rescues, personal protective equipment, self-contained breathing apparatus, water supplies, ventilation and fire hose. “It was a bit more lax in those early days,” recalls Sohier. “We did first-aid training and imported instructors to teach certain things like auto extraction and procedures for hazardous materials, and then people would go off to do live-fire training at the Justice Institute on the mainland where they had controlled burns. That was pretty much the only accredited fire-training facility that existed in the province. Now there are a couple of different options like the Vancouver Island Fire Emergency Response Academy, which is operated through the city of Nanaimo. We also do a lot of training through Pender Island. The 16-week entry-level firefighter training is the benchmark for everyone. You could apply at any fire department in North America with that.”
Now I’m looking at some pretty hair-raising pictures of past fires on Saturna and want to know those stories. The fire chief tells me the most recent one was at Murder Point, three years ago. “It was probably started by lightning. It was a lucky one because there was no wind. It was in a remote part of the island 150 feet down the bank, so difficult to access. We had to put down ropes.” Other photos show a dramatic house fire from 20 years ago. “It was in the valley on Sunset Boulevard near the school. The fire started in the stove of an old cedar-sided home.” Sohier also recalls another fire when a surrounding hectare went up in flames. “The fire at the ferry terminal was the biggest, but we also had a fire at the sawmill here. It was probably equally as big but just not as flashy.”
Fundraising Too The SIVFP raises money from donations and events they organize themselves, like the popular Halloween fireworks and the pig barbecues in November (on Nov. 12 this year) and on the May long weekend. They also operate the dunk tank at Saturna’s famous July l lamb barbecue. In the summer months they have a booth at the farmers market that springs up beside the General Store. The final word goes to Saturna’s fire chief. “Take extreme caution when camping or walking the woods. Remember, no open fires anywhere in the Gulf Islands.”
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October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 45
DIAN
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Q&A
Jim Spencer with a replica of the Chilkat blanket made by his great grandmother, featuring the raven and the bear, which are his family's two totems. Page 46 – AQUA – October/November 2016
jen maclellan photo
For many Gulf Islands School District students, Jim Spencer, 89, also known as Wave Walker, is the person they associate with First Nations culture through presentations he makes as part of the district’s aboriginal education program. Tell us about your First Nations ancestry. A. My great grandmother Mary Ebbetts was Tlingit and a high priestess. On maturity she married a Hudson’s Bay Company factor, Robert Hunt, who was English and the first of the Hunt clan. He was posted from Alaska to Fort Rupert and by the turn of century he was posted in Fort Rupert and that’s where they raised their family. She had seven surviving children and my grandmother was one of the seven children. Q. You were not raised with Tlingit culture, though? A. No. After I was 12 years old, I moved away from Port Hardy and I had no connection with my native culture until after I moved to Salt Spring in 1958. I was in real estate here for 30 years, and when I quit the real estate business at 65, I wondered, “What am I going to do in my old age?” I started to get interested in my native background. I am the only one of my siblings and close family who got interested in it. Q. What is your role with the Gulf Islands School District? A. I started doing classroom presentations in the Gulf Islands because I was the only one available, I guess, to do native work with the children. I don’t do history. They call me a storyteller and I basically tell stories and I do some ceremonies and that sort of thing. The kids just love me. Q. Does storytelling come natural to you? A. My maternal grandmother didn’t go to the residential schools, and she used to tell me stories. I spent a lot of time with my granny and listening to her stories. And also, after I was 65, both my wife Carol and I started to study spiritualism, which is communicating with Spirit, and I get a lot of my information from Spirit when I’m writing. Q. Can you tell us about one of the themes you explore? A. Now that the churches don’t have complete control anymore, things are starting to evolve back to where they were 2,000 years ago. The native culture lived with what we now call the ecosystem. They not only lived with it, they were part of it. And because they were so much a part of it, they had connections with the animal kingdom, with those in Spirit, etc. A lot of the ways they had were not gentle, but when you stop and think of it, nature is not gentle. The orcas eat the salmon, the salmon eat the herring, the herring eat the krill and the krill eat the plankton. All of nature is that way. Q. Can you describe the various parts of your regalia? A. First there’s the cedar head band, made from the cambium bark of a young cedar tree, which is our sacred tree. This gives me a direct connection with the forest, the ocean and all of nature. The replica of the Chilkat blanket, which was made by my great grandmother over 100 years ago, gives me a direct connection with her, for receiving authentic information of the aboriginal history. The medicine pouch contains artifacts that help to influence and guide me. The bear is the hunter and the raven brings me wisdom. They are on our family totem and blanket. The healing wand has many artifacts that have been imbued with healing energy. The medicine bag contains articles for smudging and healing. The drum is for many purposes, including calling in the ancients and the ancestors. The staff is used for oratory and speaking.
vacation ON THE GULF ISLANDS Come and enjoy our island paradise!
Salt Spring, Pender, Mayne, Gabriola, Galiano and Saturna are the most popular Gulf Islands and offer daily ferries from both Vancouver and Victoria. Offering a variety of activities and services to the visitor these islands are all well known for their unique character, natural beauty and tranquility. Bring your friends and family to explore the rocky shores of these islands, kayaking the waters between them, or simply browsing through the local craft markets.
For details on accommodations, restaurants, things to do, attractions, events information and maps
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October/November 2016 – AQUA – Page 47
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VOLVO VOLVO XC90 XC90 XX XX XXX XXX 2735 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC 2735 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC www.jpvolvoofvictoria.com | 250-382-6122 JIM PATTISON VOLVO OF VICTORIA JIM PATTISON VOLVO OF VICTORIA JIM PATTISON VOLVOVOLVO OF VICTORIA JIM PATTISON OF VICTORIAwww.jpvolvoofvictoria.com | 250-382-6122 IntelliSafe with adaptive cruising, 360 camera, active high beam, park assist and more
2735 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC 2735 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC www.jpvolvoofvictoria.com | 250-382-6122 www.jpvolvoofvictoria.com | 250-382-6122
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