Volume 12 • Issue 02
MARCH 2016
74 YEARS OLD $750 OF FISH
$20k IN FINES THE TRIALS OF FRED ELLIOT PAGES 5-7
ENOUGH! OUR WOMEN... STILL MISSING Articles by Lori Shenher and Cara McKenna PAGES 14-17
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NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL NATIONS
OPINION Coast Salish 24/7 Naut’sa mawt-Working together as one EDITORIAL TEAM Mark Kiemele - Editor editor@salishseasentinel.ca Cara McKenna - Writer caradawnmckenna@gmail.com Tricia Thomas - Photographer Bronwen Geddes - Copy Editor DESIGN Salish Eye Productions ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION Manoj Sood ads@salishseasentinel.ca 604-943-6712 OR 1-888-382-7711 PUBLISHER Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council 330-6165 Highway17A Delta, BC V4K 5B8 Gary Reith, CAO 604-943-6712 OR 1-888-382-7711 PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT # 42922026
The Salish Sea map was created in 2009 by Stefan Freelan at Western Washington University
Undeliverable mail may be returned to: 330-6165 Highway 17A, Delta, BC, V4K 5B8 circulation@salishseasentinel.ca
SalishSeaSentinel
@SalishSentinel
www.salishseasentinel.ca Deadline for editorial and advertising is the 15th of every month.
The Salish Sea Sentinel is published monthly, ten times a year, by the Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council, representing 6,500 people in 11 member nations. Salish Sea Sentinel is all rights reserved. Contents and photographs may not be reprinted without written permission. The statements, opinions and points of view expressed in articles published in this magazine are those of the authors. The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, transparencies or other materials.
COVER PHOTO: Tricia Thomas took the photograph of Fred Elliot aboard his boat near the spot where it was confiscated two years ago by DFO.
1. HALALT (250) 246-4736 chief@halalt.org www.halalt.org
7. SNUNEYMUXW (Nanaimo) (250) 740-2300 johngwesley@shaw.ca www.snuneymuxw.ca
2. HOMALCO (250) 923-4979 m.enevoldsen@homalco.com
8. STZ’UMINUS (Ladysmith) (250) 245-7155
3. KLAHOOSE Qathen Xwegus Management Corp (250) 935-6536 www.klahoose.com 4. MALAHAT (250) 743-3231 caroline.harry@malahatnation.com www.malahatnation.com 5. SLIAMMON (604) 483-9646 clint.williams@sliammon.bc.ca www.sliammonfirstnation.com www.sliammontreaty.com 6. SNAW-NAW-AS (Nanoose) (250) 390-3661 chris.bob@nanoose.org www.nanoose.org
Ray.Gauthier@coastsalishdevcorp.com
www.stzuminus.com 9. TSAWWASSEN (604) 943-2122 info@tsawwassenfirstnation.com www.tsawwassenfirstnation.com 10. TSLEIL-WAUTUTH (604) 929-3454 bbaptiste@twnation.ca www.twnation.ca 11. T’SOU-KE (Sooke) (250) 642-3957 administrator@tsoukenation.com www.tsoukenation.com Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council 8017 Chemainus Road Chemainus, BC V0R 1K5 (250) 324-1800 www.nautsamawt.org SALISH SEA SENTINEL
1
OPINION
SPRING... FROGS SING... BIGHOUSE CLOSES THEY SAY YOU SHOULD hang all your troubles and anger on the big nail beside the door into the bighouse so that such things do not affect the important work around the fires. A nation’s leader recently said, while shaking a finger in face: “You are that nail. The Sentinel. Your magazine. You are a witness. Tell the good stories. But tell the bad ones too. Things need to be said. That’s your work. Do it!” Chief Caroline Harry Those words came after our last issue of the magazine raised the hackles of some readers. The article in question was a story about Chief Caroline Harry and the ongoing challenges facing Malahat Nation (See Pages 12-13). When we last saw Caroline at the annual general meeting of Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council, she smiled that wonderful shy/strong smile that probably helped get her elected as the nation’s first female chief last November. That she can smile at all seems quite remarkable. Caroline came into the job late last year as a result of a special election that was called after the resignations of the former chief and councillors. It was also after two other bombshell announcements: that Malahat had signed on to a project by Steelhead LNG and that the nation had purchased the nearby Bamberton industrial lands overlooking Saanich Inlet. But that was last year. In January, Caroline sat over lunch and talked to us about her life as a woman, a mother and a leader.
OTHER VIEWS WHAT A GIFT! (edited for length)
Dear Sentinel: What an unexpected joy it was taking the ferry to the Island on Dec. 23, when my father showed me the November 2015 issue of the Salish Sea Sentinel, featuring the article ‘Harry’s Legacy lives on …’ Thank you so much for this truly wonderful Christmas gift. 2 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
She almost simmered as she spoke about how she was not allowed to speak about things, about deals that had been made and about the needs of her small but growing community. There were legal, political and other reasons for her relative silence. We used that talk for the short, and vaguely informative, article in our February issue. But, as The Sentinel went to the printing press, more amazing things happened. Three senior employees were dismissed and more evidence emerged of odd financial goings-on. But still Caroline smiled. And spoke quietly and strongly, off the record, about things like greed, betrayal and untruthfulness. And about all the important work that her community needs to do and the things they need to know about. Meanwhile, Steelhead LNG is pretty silent about the things going on with its major partner, Malahat Nation. The company must be well aware of the quagmire, hopefully very short-term, and it should be a good corporate citizen and send its people back to the nation with suspended contracts that were signed by Malahat staff and leaders who are now nowhere to be seen. We understand the business concerns of Steelhead and the mad panic for the BC government to get an LNG project up and running before the provincial election in 2017. But the main focus, at least for a while, should be for everyone concerned to support and help strengthen a nation in a time of great need. When citizens call leadership and governance into question, no amount of public relations spin can fix things. It takes new, strong leaders to emerge. ‘Outsiders’ – whether well-meaning staff or caring corporations – cannot provide answers. But their assistance and commitment is essential.
Mark Kiemele, Editor
signed comments always appreciated - editor@salishseasentinel.ca or contact on page 1.
I believe the Harry Manson Legacy soccer tournament provides an excellent opportunity to bring First Nations and Canadians of all cultures together and begin forming a new relationship with each other… We are currently exploring the possibilities of staging the 2016 Harry Manson Legacy on Vancouver Island, a homecoming for the tournament, so to speak. Our greatest challenge in doing so, is the fact that I live in Vancouver. Ideally,
if one of the Island’s First Nations would consider entering a team and hosting the 2016 Harry Manson Legacy this summer, perhaps as part of the June 21st National Aboriginal Day celebrations, this challenge would… be overcome. I would welcome any thoughts or ideas that you may have on the viability of such a plan. Robert Janning www.friendsofharrymanson.com
OPINION
MOM APPLAUDS EMPOWERED DAUGHTER DEBRA LAZZAR IS PROUD of her daughter for a lot of reasons. Most recently, it was because of the way 14-year-old Kyra argued in support of the T’Sou-ke First Nation leadership on Facebook. After an exchange of posts between her daughter and another member, Debra wrote her own post. “I must say I applaud my daughter Kyra Lazzar for being the strong young lady she is to comment on the post from another community member bashing our leadership and not be afraid to offer her opinion. “That’s the glory of Facebook and social media, everyone is allowed an opinion. It’s unfortunate that we as a nation think its appropriate to bash our Chief and Council on social media no matter what our disagreements are. What are we teaching our children?? Kyra Lazzar
“Of course it’s brilliant that my daughter would suggest that you set a table for the community to have a community discussion. I am proud that Kyra is following the teachings and the proper ways to honour our nation and keep harmony. I know that her Great Grandmother would be proud. “I’d also like to say when we post I think we should think what our ancestors that have passed on would think of our actions.” Debra then wrote about empowering the next generation. “… please be patient as she is still learning her roots and connections to the family of T’Sou-ke. I suppose it’s hard for her to know who the relatives are that she doesn’t see on a regular basis. “But if you ask her about any of the elders of T’Sou-ke, she knows exactly how she is related to them! She is learning, so please do not judge her, as we should for all youth, empower them as they are our next generation!!”
Proud neighbour, committed to community. At Port Metro Vancouver we are committed to the development of long-term working relationships with Aboriginal groups who share an interest in the lands and waters we manage. As we monitor the safety and efficiency of traffic on the water, we wish all mariners safe and enjoyable passage. For marine-related assistance within Port Metro Vancouver’s jurisdiction, call our 24/7 Operations Centre at 604.665.9086.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 3
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
HALALT CHIEF HAS BIG PLANS FOR PULP MILL SITE
“WE STILL HAVE HOPE FOR THIS PLACE,” Chief James Thomas says as he looks at the smoking stacks and the pile of hog fuel in front of the Catalyst pulp and paper mill in Crofton.
4 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
The pulp mill is in Halalt First Nation territory and the pulp mill is the focus of huge lawsuits, along with Canada and BC, for the damages caused since the facility produced almost 60 years ago.
“This place is going to close, probably someday soon,” the chief said gesturing at the mill that is a major employer and the main taxpayer for the Municipality of North Cowichan.
Chief James Thomas at Crofton Catalyst. Photo by Tricia Thomas
“All the people who work here know that its days are numbered. The company knows it and so do the governments. “So what happens when this place closes down? Who is going to restore the Chemainus River’s estuary? Who is going to bring back the salmon? Who is going to clean this place up? “It’s not going to be Catalyst or its shareholders. When companies shut down, they disappear like smoke, leaving behind all the problems they created. Is it going to be cleaned up by governments using taxpayer dollars? We all know how that goes around the BC coast. “It is not our doing, but it is Halalt’s responsibility and our neighbouring nations. This is our home; we’re not going anywhere. Industries and governments come and go, but we’re not going anywhere. That’s why we filed those lawsuits, because it will be left for us as always.” Below the mill is a park-like place called Sthi’Xum. A small marble marker explains that this is the site of a 2,000-year-old village where the ancestors of the people of Halalt once lived. The marker also informs visitors that the site is protected by the BC Conservations Act. It looks out over the estuary and toward Willy Island, uninhabited reserve lands of the nation. The primary Halalt reserve is back along the main road near the Island
Highway, a route travelled by hundreds of trucks carrying chips for the mill as well as logs for the Timberberwest dry land log sorting operation at Shoal Island below the mill. The chief – whose Hul’qumi’num name is Sul-Cee-Mulstun – said his nation is already putting together an ambitious plan involving mill workers, other First Nations and government agencies to remediate the Catalyst site. “We have watched the Catalyst share price tank over the last few years,” he said. “A year ago it was up around $8 a share. Now it’s at $2 and the shares are not even being traded. We had to do something before Catalyst pulled the plug and walked away. That’s why we filed those lawsuits in late January. “We’re not happy about this situation, but then we have been unhappy ever since work began on this mill over 60 years ago. We have tried hard to help Catalyst be a better corporate citizen, but now those days are short.
“Halalt First Nation has a responsibility to our river, this estuary and even to the water from Lake Cowichan that feeds this mill. “But we also have a responsibility to this region of Vancouver Island. What is going to happen to all those good-paying jobs when Catalyst closes? Where are the people, our neighbours, going to go? “So, we have been working on a creative solution for the clean up of the mill site and the remediation of all the damage it has caused. We want to create an army of workers in a project that will become a model for all of coastal BC as we transition from a heavy industrial resource economy. “I guess people might say these lawsuits are a form of reparations. But we also like to think of any money the courts award us as seed money for a big economic development opportunity that will create a new economy, and a sustainable one, for this place we all call home.”
Sthi’Xum village site
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 5
COAST SALISH PROTOCOL
SNUNEYMUXW CENTRE OPENS SOON photos by Tricia Thomas
THE NEW COMMUNITY centre for Snuneymuxw is nearer to its opening with the hiring of manager Mariah Robinson. She is in the main photo with Tom Watson.
Mariah at her new desk
6 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
DUTCH LEARN ABOUT TLA’AMIN AND ERIK LEARNS ABOUT THEM by Cara McKenna photos by Tricia Thomas
TLA’AMIN FIRST NATION’S Erik Blaney took a step entirely outside of his comfort zone in January in order to promote his tourism business overseas. Blaney, who proclaims that he’s “never been anywhere,” hopped on a plane to attend the Vakantiebeurs tourism fair in Utrecht, near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. There was jet lag, some cultural shock and a few questionable Dutch delicacies – but Erik’s I’Hos Erik Blaney Cultural Tours and the Lund Hotel, which Tla’amin owns, ran out of brochures and maps by day three of the five-day trade show. “I’ve never been on a big plane before, the biggest plane would be from Powell River to Vancouver,” he said. Blaney explained that he gets anxiety flying, because he hates to not to be in control. It’s a trait that has actually helped him become successful and manage a number of thriving projects besides I’Hos. It did not help him during the 10-hour flight from Vancouver, but he still made it in one piece and ready to promote Tla’amin, even after being awake for 33 hours.
“There were about 200,000 people at the trade show,” Blaney said. “Our reach was huge.” The Dutch were impressed by Tla’amin territory, which I’Hos highlights in its tours with interpretive hikes, showing medicinal plants and teaching about traditional practices like weaving and carving. And while Blaney was showing off Tla’amin’s culture, he got a taste of the Dutch culture, too. Friends he was staying with kept him on his toes by challenging him to eat and learn something Dutch every day. He also saw some sights including giant windmills and Amsterdam’s famous red light district. The foods included toast with chocolate sprinkles and questionably coloured hot dogs. But the strangest thing, Blaney said, was how the Dutch prepare herring. “I think they use vinegar to take the skin off. And then you have a bowl of onions and you roll the herring and onions and eat it,” he said. “It was pretty good actually.” In Tla’amin, herring is fried or pickled, something the Dutch would perhaps in turn find odd. Now, Blaney is back at home, preparing for what’s sure to be a prosperous tourism season after his business trip. I’Hos’ zodiac tours kick off on May 15. Visit www.ihostours.com
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 7
GOVERNANCE
TLA’AMIN READIES FOR BIG DAY Words and photos by Cara McKenna
WEEKS BEFORE TREATY effective date at Tla’amin First Nation, the mood in the community is electric. Most staff is holed up in offices or meetings, figuring out the final details before April 5. Others are hard at work on construction of the impressive new government house. It is about three months behind schedule and workers are trying to get the center atrium ready for use on the big day. Another group is carving red cedar totem poles for the building’s front entrance. The poles will represent the nation’s past, present and future as it moves along with treaty. Everyone is busy… everyone is talking about treaty… and many are anxious. There have been decades of buildup and now it’s crunch time. 8 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Work continues to get Government House ready for the big day
Denise Williams with other Sliammon chiefs at the treaty signing in 2014
GOVERNANCE
Carvers are working on poles that will tell the story of the nations past, present and future
Tla’amin will be the latest of several nations to sign a treaty with BC and Canada including Tsawwassen and Nisga’a. The agreement will give Tla’amin the chance to be self-sufficient, implement its own laws and solidify its rights over its territory. It will also bring in millions of dollars. But, like all BC treaties, it has caused controversy among the band’s members. Some are excited that the treaty will allow Tla’amin to self-govern, but others are worried about whether the treaty is the right decision, and what impact the fast changes will have on generations to come. Many, from both the pro- and anti-treaty sides, are feeling nervous about whether it’s the right decision. Denise Smith – Kwy em tomolx – who is the land and natural resources negotiator,
said it’s not going to be a painful change, it just means the band gets to implement its own rules rather than following the Indian Act. “It’s not going to be a dramatic, earthshattering change, but it is going to be a change and I’m excited about that,” she said. “We’ll own our land, we’ll actually have economic opportunities on our land. That’s big.” During the second week of February, the nation’s leadership met with the treaty society to pour through each of about 25 laws so the legislation can start being passed at midnight on April 4. The rules have been the biggest source of the treaty society’s work, Smith said, and cover governance and finance, land and resources, as well as community and social.
Smith, an ex-chief, who has been working towards effective date for more than 30 years, said she’s most looking forward to “stabilizing the ship.” “It’s been a rocky road for a long time. We’ve had a lot of big bumps in the road over time and we can do it for ourselves now,” she said. “I think that’s the best thing.” She added that the work is not over. “There are things in the treaty that will happen after effective date that still need some work,” she said. And we have to hold the province’s hand to the fire on this agreement. … (It) has to come alive and live.”
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 9
$20,000 WORTH
OF PRAWNS AND HALIBUT
10 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
by Mark Kiemele photo by Tricia Thomas
FRED AND DELORES Elliott sit at the dining table in their comfortable house that looks over the waters of Stuart Channel and the entrance to Kulleet Bay. In the near distance, to the east, is Thetis Island. The house next door is where their son lives. He is John Elliott, chief of Stz’uminus First Nation. Fred’s skiff is tied up on the waterfront, just below the house. Nearby is where, in August 2010, the Stz’uminus people successfully shut down a geoduck harvest on their doorstep by the Underwater Harvesters Association, the group that has a near-monopoly on commercial harvests of the lucrative shellfish. All these things could be relevant to what happened in the BC court in January when Fred was found guilty of selling $750 worth of prawns and halibut in a Department of Fisheries and Oceans undercover operation. Fred was fined $2,000 and had to pay another $18,000 to get his confiscated boat returned. “It was a sting,” Fred, 74, says as Delores serves salmon sandwiches to her husband and a visitor. “This guy kept calling me, wanting to buy fish. I finally sold him some, some prawns and halibut four different times. Then they charged me and confiscated my boat.” It was having his boat taken away that hurt the most. “It’s a boat the community uses for fishing for feasts and other events,” he said. Fred was charged with one count of selling halibut without a license on August 7, 2013, and three other counts of selling prawns later in 2013 and early 2014. “It’s all about politics and money,” Fred says of the multi-million dollar geoduck harvest. The same seems to apply to an elder selling a few hundred dollars worth of seafood. “There are lots of illegal things going on out there,” says Fred, nodding toward the waters that make up his front yard. “When I was younger, DFO wasn't that bad, but things have changed.” The trial in the Duncan courthouse lasted for three days. Fred says 19 DFO officers were involved in the investigation, and that five DFO officials testified against him. “My lawyer felt so bad about what happened, he said he would do the appeal for free.”
RESOURCES
NOTHING ABOUT RECONCILIATION
Children proclaim victory at Kulleet Bay in 2010
Lawyer Matthew Boulton of the Victoria law firm Woodward and Company took on the case and said an appeal was due to be filed in late February. “I am so baffled by DFO’s approach to the whole thing,” he said. “Both Stz’uminus and the DFO are going to be around for a long, long time and this result does nothing for reconciliation.” “This was a 74-year-old man with no prior record. Court statements showed that the DFO called Fred 30 times during the investigation.” When the judge handed down his ruling on Jan. 21, Boulton said he was surprised at both the $2,000 fine and the additional compensation Fred had to pay for the value of the boat.
In the circumstances of the case, there was no pressing need to deter this 74-year old man from future infractions. The result of the decision is that an Aboriginal man who has fished his entire life is deterred from fishing in the traditional waters of the Stz’uminus people.” Boulton said the court heard that the Stz’uminus people had been a “thorn in the DFO side” for years and thought that may have had much to do with Fred being prosecuted to the tune of $20,000. While Boulton mentioned the recent Supreme Court decision allowing commercial sales of seafood by Nuu-chahnulth nations on the west coast of the Island during the case, he said it was not central to Fred’s defense.
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SALISH SEA SENTINEL 11
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
MALAHAT SAGA CONTINUES...
Lawrence Lewis in early January looking out over Saanich Inlet from the Bamberton lands.
JULY • Malahat announced the purchase of the 525-hectare Bamberton lands, tripling the size of its land base.
AUGUST • Michael Harry resigns as chief over charges of alleged financial improprieties connected to a contaminated soil treatment facility in nearby Shawnigan Lake. Council also resigns. • Councillor Tommy Harry named interim chief and calls a Nov. 2 special election. • Malahat and Steelhead LNG announce plans for a floating gas facility in Saanich Inlet. The deal also involves pipelines through the USA to Vancouver Island and another deal with Huu-ay-aht First Nation at Sarita Bay on the west coast. 12 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
by Mark Kiemele
Photos by Tricia Thomas
OCTOBER • National Energy Board approves annual export of up to six million tonnes of gas from Malahat LNG for 25-years. • A BC numbered company, created earlier in the year, changes its name to MICO.
THREE TOP STAFF and trustees have been removed from the Malahat Investment Corporation (MICO). Chief Caroline Harry and councillors George Harry Jr, Matt Harry and Vincent Harry also announced a restructuring of the business side of Malahat Nation along with a legal review of finances and governance of the organization. The chief said she could not make any public comments about the affair other than that she and the council wanted to start looking forward and begin to work for the health and wealth of the community of about 315 people on the western shore of Saanich Inlet. The latest events began in mid-January when MICO’s chief executive, legal officer and financial officer – Lawrence Lewis, Nicole Hajash and Marguerite Briglio – were dismissed. Renee Racette was named to lead a new executive for the nation. Meanwhile, the nation said in a Feb. 10 notice that Victoria law firm is carrying out a thorough review that will look at MICO “as well as the actions of the previous chief and council”.
NOVEMBER • Malahat elects first woman chief, Caroline Harry, along with new councillors George Harry Jr, Matt Harry and Vincent Harry.
JANUARY • A BC Supreme Court judge accepted Malahat’s request for a ‘stay’ to challenge a dumping permit (See August). The contaminated soil site in Shawnigan
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
TREATIES COULD BE LNG DEAL-BREAKER A SNUNEYMUXW LAWYER and scholar is questioning the Steelhead LNG’s project based on the Pre-Confederation Treaty rights of Saanich area First Nations including Malahat Nation itself. Douglas S. White is interim director of the Centre for Pre-Confederation Treaties and Reconciliation at Vancouver Island University. He also sits on his nation’s council. Kwulasultun is his Coast Salish name and Tliishin his Nuu-chahnulth name. White was quick to see the implications after the Malahat LNG project was announced in August. “Based on reported negative reactions from within the Malahat Nation itself and from neighbouring First Nations, it became immediately clear that the Malahat Nation had not engaged with or secured consent from them. Further, the NEB export licenses were apparently issued without any notice or engagement with First Nations around Saanich Inlet.
He said those rights include “the duty to secure consent for proposals that would interfere with those rights.” Companies like Steelhead LNG need to understand the treaties, he said. “It is hard to imagine companies authorizing billions of dollars on the capital costs of LNG projects with this total uncertainty. “The court provides the answer to this uncertainty in its direction to how governments and companies should proceed even prior to Aboriginal Title being established – get First Nations consent. “Premier Christy Clark remains committed to LNG, notwithstanding the total collapse of global energy economics over the past year and a half. She has built her government’s political and economic agenda around its success and has encouraged a gold rush mentality and speculative approach to LNG development across the province. “However, oil was valued well over $100/barrel in the summer of 2014 and in
Photo courtesy of Vancouver Island University
recent months it has been below $30/barrel. The price of much of the LNG market is indexed to the price of oil, so this sudden drastic drop severely challenges LNG economics… “Steelhead LNG says it remains on track for the Bamberton project and is continuing to pursue it. The Malahat Nation has gone through a change in government after the resignation of the former chief. “While economic and political dynamics appear to be deeply unsettled around this proposal, what is clear in all of this is the need to approach decision making about the use of the lands and waters around the Salish Sea in ways that are consistent with the Treaty Rights and Aboriginal Title of the Indigenous Peoples that have called it home for millennia.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 13
#MMIW
Words by Cara McKenna photography by Cara McKenna and Mark Kiemele
FIGHTING FOR SISTERS… FAY BLANEY’S LIFE ON A TYPICALLY grey winter day in Vancouver, Fay Blaney is walking through the heart of the Downtown Eastside with several other Indigenous women’s advocates. The women enter the Aboriginal Front Door Society where they’re about to hold a press conference to outline their concerns about the federal government’s recently launched inquiry into Canada’s epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW). All of them have been fighting for this inquiry for many years, before the story of serial killer Robert Pickton preying on women in the area began making headlines, and before 14 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
the general public began paying attention. They’ve been the ones talking to and laughing and crying with the victims and their families. Twenty-five years ago, Blaney and others were fighting for the rights of Indigenous women when the government just “didn’t care,” she said. Back then, Aboriginal women who died on the Downtown Eastside would get tenminute funerals, if any, despite cultural protocol calling for days-long ceremonies to say goodbye. The issue is now getting increased attention and the MMIW inquiry is happening, but the committee is worried that the gov-
ernment isn’t putting enough focus on the misogyny and colonialism at the root of the problem. And they’re going to tell Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett exactly that, right after they tell the media. Blaney, her long hair in braids, warmly greets several regulars who are sitting in a circle of folding chairs drinking coffee from Styrofoam cups. People around her hustle to rearrange the room to make space for news reporters, who have already started arriving. She sits at a newly moved table, her voice and demeanour unshakable even after multiple interruptions from the centre’s staff and a CTV reporter who’s wondering where to
#MMIW
Fay - second from left - speaks to the media
place her microphone. Blaney’s daughter brings her tea and toast. “They’re expecting me to help organize this,” Blaney explains calmly as she sips her tea and directs the room between questions. Her steadfast manner is a product of, and has led to, her three decades as a powerful voice for Indigenous women. It’s been a lifelong journey for Blaney, whose first true act of rebellion happened when, still dealing with a history of violence and sexual abuse within her family, she ran away from residential school in Mission, BC. “I couldn’t handle the constant punishment,” she said. “When I began running, I came to the city.” Blaney pinpoints her start in activism to when she was part of an all-women’s occupation of the BC offices of the Department of Indian Affairs to protest actions of its leadership in the early 1980s. She went on to study at Simon Fraser
University in the early 1990s, another part of her liberation, and became a strong voice for Indigenous women in the years following as part of a number of different organizations and groups. In the early 2000s, she took her advocacy home to Homalco First Nation where she grew up, as documented in the 2006 documentary Finding Dawn. Before colonization, the Homalco people lived around Church House and Bute Inlet. They were healthy and fish were abundant. But the community was transplanted to an area far from the sea near the Campbell River airport. It was landlocked with no access to the ocean. The nation continues to mourn its loss. There have been serious residual impacts, and the resulting problems made it a scary place at times when Blaney was a child. The community has faced extreme social issues including, notoriously, physical and sexual violence towards its women, something Blaney watched happen to her
mother who ran away to escape the abuse. But Blaney, no longer afraid, came into her community with guns blazing, ready to tackle the problem with other abuse survivors within the community. Despite their noble efforts, Blaney says now, ten years later, abuse towards women is still a problem that Homalco and many other communities continue to grapple with. Studies peg the rate of Indigenous women who have experienced violence within their own communities as high as 90 per cent. “I did my best,” Blaney said. “It didn’t work out for me. There’s just too much internal strife.” She sees women from her home community in Vancouver every so often, she said, through her work with the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre. Blaney is an uplifting presence to other Aboriginal women not only because she can relate to their struggles, but because she also uses her culture to guide her work. SALISH SEA SENTINEL 15
#MMIW
When she was a young teen, she went through puberty rights, which involved bathing in a river every day for a year and cooking for her community. “I served the elders, I served the community, so those teachings have been invaluable and gave me a discipline that I could not have attained otherwise,” she said. “Now when I do this work I’m very disciplined. It’s self-sacrificing in a lot of ways, but I think that’s our teaching anyways, as Indigenous peoples.” By now, the small room is near-full of TV crews, reporters from many of the major news outlets and several Downtown Eastside residents who are gathering at the windows to see what all the action is about. Her fellow committee members are beside her at the table, a cluster of microphones now in front of them, and cameras begin to flash. Blaney looks apologetic, but everyone is looking at her expectantly. There’s a fire behind her eyes as she 16 SALISH SEA SENTINEL
gets ready to speak, articulate and strong words that come from years of education and experience, but more than that, a real thirst for change. When asked how she feels that none of this, the inquiry, the interest, would be happening without people like her, she stays humble, choosing to acknowledge
those who came before her. For Blaney, it’s not a choice, it’s what she’s always done — standing up for her sisters. The CTV reporter who’s been waiting hurries up to the table and turns on her microphone.
#MMIW
Former Vancouver police detective Lori Shenher literally wrote the book on the infamous missing and murdered women investigation. That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away tells about the first assignment in 1998 to explore an increase in the number of missing women to the harrowing 2002 interrogation of convicted serial killer Robert Pickton. It also is the story of a years-long struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder from that work.
A TRAUMA SHARED by Lori Shenher
I WATCH AS the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls marches along in these early months of 2016, conducting preliminary interviews in a design phase that I hope leads to actionable recommendations and lasting change. Families and activists watch, cautiously optimistic that finally, their voices will be heard, future lives will be saved, and their loved ones will be avenged and granted the kind of respect in death they never received in life. It’s a complicated hope. While it’s hard to recall a more earnest commitment to national change, that hope is bound up in lifetimes of disappointment, degradation, and dismissal. It’s hard to keep standing up when you’ve been knocked down so many times. It’s hard not to feel skeptical; I feel it, too, and fight to keep that doubt at bay. The Women’s Memorial March Committee began 26 years ago in response to a 1991 murder on Powell Street murder of a young Indigenous woman. Every year, I have wanted to join in and walk, not with the police who come out in a show of support that sadly only extends this one day a year, but rarely into department-wide policies or attitudes that protect women.
They are not my people. The women and their allies who hold tight to hope are. As I write this, I still don’t know if I will attend this year. I fear my presence would trigger some, raise mistrust in others, and shake my still-unsteady PTSD recovery from working as a detective on Vancouver’s missing women file in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I have never wanted to show up and be someone who needed the marchers’ support when I only wish to offer mine. I don’t want to mingle with the police. And so, I have stayed away. Vancouver’s downtown Eastside is in dire need of change. It’s been years since I worked there, but whenever I walk through, I’m deeply saddened by the hungry, cold, addicted, injured, desperate people in alleys and on the streets needing a kind word, a meal, addictions and trauma treatment, help leaving sex work, a safe place to stay, connection with family. Conditions now are much worse than I remember them. Friends tell me so many other places across this country are suffering from the same issues as hopelessness fuels a suicide epidemic among young people. It will take a seismic shift in attitudes
– through the work of this Inquiry and beyond – from all Canadians in terms of how we respect Indigenous people and what we do to ensure they are safe from violent, racist, misogynous predators in future. I have to carry hope that this can be achieved.
Lori Shenher worked as a City of Vancouver police officer for over 24 years and is now pursuing a Master’s Degree in professional communications. Lori holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English literature from the University of Calgary.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 17
NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL
MP VISITS OUR AGM
MP Rachel Blaney speaks to leaders
Rachel and Darren Blaney
working together for sustainable communities
Burnaby office: 604-293-1411 www.ae.ca
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Representatives from 11 nations attended the gathering
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IT’S NOT OFTEN an MP visits our nations. And even more rare when one comes to the annual general meeting of Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council. So, history was made on Feb. 12 when MP Rachel Blaney, the newly elected member of Parliament for North Island-Powell River stopped in to say a few words to the gathering in Parksville. The backstory to this is that Rachel is the partner of Darren Blaney from Homalco First Nation. The day was also the couple’s wedding anniversary, so they were spending extra time at Tigh-na-mara resort in order to take advantage of Valentine’s Day two days later. Chairman for the day was Chief Gordon Planes of T’Sou-ke. He asked Darren to introduce his wife Rachel and invited her to say a few words Rachel said that she was honoured to be asked to speak and felt it was a real honour to do this work and to with representatives of the eleven member nations. Doug White Sr. of Snuneymuxw told Rachel that it was an honour to have her at the AGM and that the tribal council had never had an MP attend a meeting before. He also said that that he was pleased that she is working from within our nations, for our nations.
Chief Bryce Williams had his float plane flight fogged in so he joined in via Facetime on an iPad with the help of NMTC governance advisor Valerie CrossBlackett
NEWS IN BRIEF
TIMS, ESSO COME TO T’SOU-KE THE SOOKE COMMUNITY was all abuzz on Feb. 16 when T’Sou-ke First Nation announced that it had made a preliminary business agreement with Tim Hortons, Esso and On the Run Convenience for construction of a new facility. Social media posts ranged from “Yum!” to “Oh, no!” as aficionados discussed merits of everything from Timbits to coffee and whether anyone should care now that Tim Hortons is now owned by Americans. T’Sou-ke administrator Michelle Thut said building would take place on the undeveloped portion of T’Sou-ke reserve land, known affectionately by members of the community as ‘the gravel pit’. She added that there was much work to be done on the deal before construction begins.
JOHN MARSTON from Stz’uminus First Nation will be putting his artistic mark on the Salish Eagle. That is one of the new Salish Class vessels which BC Ferries said are “named to recognize the Coast Salish as the original mariners of the Salish Sea”. BC Ferries and the First Peoples’ Cultural Council selected Marston as one of three Coast Salish artists to create designs for the new vessels. Darlene Gait from Esquimalt Nation will design for the Salish Orca while Thomas Cannell from Musqueam will work on the Salish Raven design. The designs will be shared publically as they are completed over the coming months.
COAST SALISH ART ON SALISH FERRIES John Marston and son with an art piece at the Mt Hayes LNG facility in 2011
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‘CHILD’ RULING EFFECTS COULD BE FAR-REACHING by Cara McKenna
CANADA MUST MAKE up for longstanding discrimination against First Nations children on reserve by urgently acting to make things right, say advocates working in Coast Salish communities. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled Jan. 26 that the federal government racially discriminates against First Nations children by giving them significantly less funding for child welfare services than the rest of the population despite having a higher need. The decision comes nine years after Cindy Blackstock of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society first filed a complaint with the Assembly of First Nations. The ruling is considered legally binding and could have far-reaching affects in Indigenous communities in and beyond child welfare to encompass other inequitable areas such as education, health care and mental health. Blackstock said the funding shortfall averages 20-30 per cent and has terrible affects on First Nations children, many of whom are taken away from their homes and put into foster care because there aren’t enough services in their communities. “The government of Canada has known that it is underfunding these services,” Blackstock said at a news conference after the tribunal’s decision was released. “And what’s the real price of this at the end of the day? First Nations children are more likely to be in foster care today than at the height of residential schools by a factor of three.” The federal ministers of Indigenous affairs and justice announced that Canada supports the ruling and will work with First Nation leaders, communities, organi-
zations and other lower levels of government to improve the situation. Robina Thomas, the board president of Nanaimo-based child welfare organization Kw’umut Lelum Child and Family Services, said a complete system overhaul is needed. Kw’umut Lelum serves nine First Nations including Snuneymuxw, Stz’uminus, Snaw-naw-as and Halalt,. “What is required now is urgent action by both the federal and provincial governments working in full partnership with First Nations,” Thomas said in a news release. “There is no time to sit around and talk while children are discriminated against and suffer. We all know our children do best when they are culturally connected, and in loving family homes and communities.” Kw’umut Lelum’s executive director William Yoachim said the ruling has confirmed that Indigenous children have been treated as less worthy than others by the Canadian government.
“As an agency on the front lines of protecting and serving Aboriginal children and families, we know too well the pernicious impacts that government discrimination has had,” he said. “We applaud the courage and persistence of Cindy Blackstock and many others, and thank them for these tireless efforts to reveal and correct this gross wrong.” “At the same time, we remain disgusted that the federal government forced this matter to go through such a long and painful process, over nine years, while our children continue to suffer.” Blackstock said that First Nations organizations can do the best job at helping their own children, while keeping them connected with their own cultures and languages, if they are given the resources to do so. “What these agencies want is a chance to do their jobs,” she said.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL 21
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
FILL‘ER UP IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE A PRIME PIECE of property is being created by Snaw-naw-as First Nation along the busy Island Highway corridor just north of Nanaimo. Huge amounts of fill will be trucked in to raise the land, situated at the intersection with Lantzville Road to highway level. Chief Brent Edwards said that the current work would bring water, sewer and drainage to the site. “We've got a traffic light that has to be put in,” he said. “We're excited by what all this means for our economic development.”
Up to 40,000 vehicles a day pass the intersection
Up to 40,000 vehicles pass the site every day. The highway, and the adjacent Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) railroad line, virtually cuts the Snaw-naw-as reserve in half. Any new development, along with the traffic light, will not only bring economic opportunities, but also make for safer community access to the upper and lower parts of the reserve.
Meanwhile, Snaw-naw-as filed a civil lawsuit in BC Supreme Court in January against the Island Corridor Foundation and the Attorney General of Canada over the E&N rail line. The lawsuit asks for the return of land that was taken in the last century to build the railway.
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AROUND THE SALISH SEA
YOUNG AND OLD took part in the many activities, including adding some polish to fingernails, when H'ulh-etun Health Society held its annual health and wellness fair for members from Halalt, Lyackson and Malahat First Nations.
WHEN THE SENTINEL photographer visited the Sliammon fish hatchery in January, 2015, evidence of the power of water was everywhere after a flood in Sliammon Creek caused damage to the weir, water lines, culverts and other structures. So it
was good to see all the repairs one year later and hear about the hatchery hitting all the DFO egg targets including 1.6 million chum eggs, 50,000 chinook and 25,000 coho.
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AROUND THE SALISH SEA
The Tsleil-Waututh message was told by Carleen Thomas
Drummers at the NEB hearing
TSLEIL-WAUTUTH PIPELINE CHALLENGE ON HOLD
Words and photos by Cara McKenna
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THE TSLEIL-WAUTUTH NATION legal challenge around the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion has been put on hold, for now. Tsleil-Waututh had its second day in the Federal Court of Appeal on Jan. 22 in its challenge against the National Energy Board (NEB) review of the project. That morning, the Attorney General of Canada was granted a three-month adjournment in part so that Tsleil-Waututh could have its first face-to-face meeting with the federal government. Chief Maureen Thomas said it is “heartening” that the government has finally Words photos agreed to and meet. by Cara McKenna “We have been asking for this for a very long time," she said in a statement. “I look forward to sitting down in good faith with the Crown.” Tsleil-Waututh is arguing that the government and NEB failed to consult with its members while designing their review process for the proposed pipeline, which would go through the First Nation’s territory. At the time of Tsleil-Waututh’s first court date in the case, former prime minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government was still in power. Now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government must advise the Crown by April 22 whether it will be changing its position in the case. If its position does change, it must file its new arguments by April 29. Meanwhile, members of First Nations around the pipeline route attended the NEB’s hearings in Burnaby from Jan. 1926. Carleen Thomas, an anti-pipeline advocate from Tsleil-Waututh, helped lead a rally in front of the hearings on the first day. “This process is not acceptable,” she said. “It in no way, shape or form reflects or resonates the concerns that we have as citizens of this beautiful land.”
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
Carleen Thomas of Tsleil-Waututh Nation, right, accompanied Grand Chief Stewart Phillip and others on the march
Naut’sa mawt
TRIBAL COUNCIL NEW! Naut’sa mawt shipping@nautsamawt.com Tribal Council now offering preferred shipping rates. The Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council has partnered with Overland West Freight Lines and Comox Pacific Express to provide CONNECTING WESTERN CANADA reliable shipping services at preferred rates! Overland West Freight Lines is an industry leader in regional LTL (less than truckload) service. Our Need something shipped? Please contact strategically located terminals, transportation Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council first so we can professionals, and leading edge IT services ensure that we have the capability and expertise to meet and exceed help you with your shipping needs.
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LAND USE PLANNING
Gina Harris worked with her mother Diana Sampson
Chief John Elliott gave Mona Sampson a hand
STZ’UMINUS LOOKS
AT LAND USE
ALMOST 100 MEMBERS of Stz’uminus First Nation gathered in their community centre on Feb. 10 to discuss ideas for future land use on IR 13, the large swath of reserve lands that stretch from Shell Beach to Kulleet Bay. As children quietly played, their parents and grandparents listened to a presentation
Manny Sampson and councillor Shawna Seymour
Some photos by Chad Harris of Stz’uminus
by planners from Urban Systems. They heard that a land use plan will provide direction for the long term and is necessary before the Stz’uminus land code is adopted. One of the main drivers for future land use are projections that thepopulation that will nearly triple over the next 40 years, from about 700 people now to about 2,000. Roxanne Harris worked with Jimmy Sampson on a survey
The new land management board was introduced as (from left) Shawna Seymour, Herb Seymour, Michelle Seymour, Cecelia Harris and Krista Perrault
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The audience used clickers to vote on options
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
TOOLKIT 2.0 SPREADS ACROSS CANADA IT MAY NOT BE A BEST SELLER, but The Housing Policy Toolkit 2.0 is certainly highly regarded by First Nations throughout Canada. Housing is one of the foremost challenges faced by First Nations. Clear, fair, consistent and community-specific housing policies and procedures are essential to the effective management and delivery of First Nation housing programs. Toolkit 2.0 is a comprehensive guide designed to support the development and implementation of housing policies and procedures for rental and rent-to-own housing. It provides flexible sample templates and expert advice on how to tailor the documents to the specific requirements of each First Nation. Toolkit 2.0 is available for free to every First Nation across Canada and, so far, almost 100 have requested the documents from Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council. NmTC housing policy advisor Eric Blueschke headed the project in partnership with many First Nations and their organizations as well as housing and legal experts. He said Toolkit 2.0 is something First Nations can use, know and trust when they are creating wellinformed housing policies and agreements. “It can be very expensive and time consuming to build or update a housing policy, especially if you are starting from scratch,” said Eric. “Now First Nations don’t have to reinvent the wheel.” T’Sou-ke, Halalt and Klahoose First Nations provided partnership support to get funding from the New Relationship Trust. Advice and guidance also came from the Assembly of First Nations, the National Aboriginal Land Managers Association, the Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation and the Center of Excellence for Matrimonial Real Property. Expert advice also came from Candace Bennett of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation and Stacy McNeil of the Seabird Island Band. Woodward and Company provided legal review and advice.
For more information, or to request a copy of the Toolkit 2.0, email toolkit@nautsamawt.com or visit the NmTC website’s resource library at www.nautsamawt.org
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NmTC Mentorship Opportunity Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council is looking for people from our eleven nations who want to know about our new Mentorship Program. We want to link applicants with our partners to provide a paid, professional work environment for up to one year. The idea is to help you realize your career and personal goals and eventually secure permanent, full-time employment based either in the Lower Mainland or on Vancouver Island. We want to know if the NmTC Mentorship Program sounds interesting to you. Let us know by sending us an email, including your resume.
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