Volume 13 . Issue 6
July 2017
CONTEMPORARY COAST SALISH RAVEN JOHN: TRANSFORMATION & ART
PAGES 20-21
lessLIE: MODERNIZING TRADITIONAL DESIGN PAGES 6-7
NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL NATIONS
Naut’sa mawt - Working together as one EDITORIAL TEAM Cara McKenna – Editor editor@salishseasentinel.ca Tricia Thomas – Photographer Todd Peacey – Photographer DESIGN & LAYOUT Kelly Landry & Carmel Ecker ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION Manoj Sood ads@salishseasentinel.ca 604-943-6712 or 1-888-382-7711 PUBLISHER Gary Reith, CAO Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 604-943-6712 or 1-888-382-7711 The Salish Sea map was created in 2009 by Stefan Freelan at Western Washington University
PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT #42922026 Undeliverable mail may be returned to: 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 circulation@salishseasentinel.ca 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.
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 Ray.Gauthier@coastsalishdevcorp.com www.stzuminus.com
3. KLAHOOSE Qathen Xwegus Management Corp (250) 935-6536 www.klahoose.com 4. MALAHAT (250) 743-3231 caroline.harry@malahatnation.com www.malahatnation.com
COVER PHOTO: Coast Salish and Sto:lo artist Raven John takes pause on a rock. Submitted photo.
5. TLA’AMIN (604) 483-9646 clint.williams@sliammon.bc.ca www.sliammonfirstnation.com
CORRECTION: In the June issue of the Salish Sea Sentinel, we erroneously reported in a story about young Stz’uminus songwriters that the students would perform for B.C. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon on May 28. In fact it was scheduled for June 28. We apologize for the error.
6. SNAW-NAW-AS (Nanoose) (250) 390-3661 chris.bob@nanoose.org www.nanoose.org
9. TSAWWASSEN (604) 943-2122 info@tsawwassenfirstnation.com www.tsawwassenfirstnation.com 10. TSLEIL-WAUTUTH (604) 929-3454 cao@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, B.C., V0R 1K5 (250) 324-1800 • www.nautsamawt.org
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 1
Grade 3 student from S-hXiXnu-tun Lelum School Natasha Frenchy testing her Hulq'umi'num speaking skills with Elder Mandy Jones.
LEARNING HUL'QUMI'NUM Photos by Tricia Thomas More than 100 students participated in this year’s Spup'titul Hul'q'umi'num Language Competition at Ladysmith Secondary School on June 1. The group from School Districts 68 and 69 included both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students of all ages. Fourteen teams spoke the language and were judged by elders, in a day that included performances, storytelling and traditional dance.
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Above: Snuneymuxw Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh School K-3 took third place in the competition. Right: Grade 3 student Cameron Johnny from Snuneymuxw Quam Qwum Stuwixwulh Community School.
Quamichan Creek Culvert Replacement “The Fish Return”
Helping our First Nation Friends with Leadership in Being Stewards of our Environment Brian Chatwin started Chatwin Engineering in 1982 to provide services to First Nations and is a trusted partner in over 50 Communities. 1-250-753-9171 www.chatwinengineering.com bchatwin@chatwinengineering.com
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 3
Chief John Elliott and Coun. Cecelia Harris gifted paddles to representatives of the new businesses in their territory.
STZ’UMINUS CELEBRATES GROWTH WITH NEW BUSINESSES AT OYSTER BAY
Community making progress on its ambitious vision after opting out of parts of Indian Act in 2013 By Cara McKenna A year after starting construction on the Oyster Bay community, Stz’uminus held a celebration to mark the opening of new businesses on the site. On June 1, several dozen of the nation’s business partners, community members and other guests gathered for an event in Oyster Bay before moving across the road for a barbeque. The 65-acre community includes a Tim Horton’s, Microtel Inn & Suites, Ladysmith Credit Union, gas station and liquor store. Several businesses have already opened, with more rolling out in coming months. Stz’uminus also has plans to develop a range of housing, an assisted living facility and a hotel. 4 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Ray Gauthier of the Coast Salish Development Corporation said, once the development is complete in about 10 years, the economic impact will be close to $1 billion. He said he also expects up to 800 new jobs will be created. “What we’re doing is exciting and it’s ground-breaking,” he said. “Five years ago…we were totally reliant on Indian Affairs to make decisions for us. Today, we manage our own land. That’s huge but it comes with responsibilities.” In December 2013, the nation opted out parts of the Indian Act to manage its own lands by voting in the First Nations Land Management Act. It has since been working on developing what it calls a “new town” near Ladysmith.
Stz’uminus Chief John Elliott, who was recently re-elected, thanked his council, the community and its many partners. “The success we have to share with you, it comes from our community, it comes from our people,” he said. “It’s the direction from our community that drives us in where we’re going and what we’re doing and how successful we are, and supporting our strong leadership team here in making this a better place.” Councillor Roxanne Harris said seeing the development come together is a dream come true. “This is our opening of Oyster Bay, and you know what, the world is our oyster,” she said. “You’re going to see us grow that pearl.”
Councillor Roxanne Harris speaks to a crowd of visitors at Oyster Bay.
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MODERNIZING TRADITION Coast Salish artist lessLIE, a.k.a. Leslie Sam, won’t sensor his art to appease a mass market
By Cara McKenna For Coast Salish artist lessLIE, even his name is a well-crafted piece of art. “My colonized, Catholic, Canadian name is Leslie Robert Sam,” he introduces himself. “And my decolonized artist name is lessLIE.” The self-given name has several different significances behind it, he said. One inspiration being a famous quote from famed artist Pablo Picasso: “art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” He also, as an urban-raised Indigenous person, wanted to give himself a meaningful name without colonial ties. And he just wanted to intrigue people. “I don’t sensor what I have to say about my culture, about the world in general,” he said. “I’ve always approached my career from that perspective.” lessLIE’s tendency to get political by cheekily incorporating corporate logos into Coast Salish works—and use art to touch on subjects like residential schools and environmental destruction— probably hasn’t helped him in tourist markets. But that hasn’t stopped him from making as a living as an artist for the past 14 years, building on the legacy of artists like Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun and Susan Point.
“I think I put myself in a vulnerable position sometimes,” he said. His artwork often finds ways to modernize traditional styles, through simple but precise graphic designs on canvas, paper or objects like drums and paddles. His work has been shown worldwide, in London, the National Gallery in Ottawa and around the West Coast, and he has exhibits coming up in Victoria and Vancouver. “As part of my art practice I also like to include writing, because writing is really pivotal to the appreciation of my work,” he said. “I just want to challenge people’s preconceptions and notions about what constitutes contemporary Coast Salish artists and deconstruct the stereotypes of that.” In fact lessLIE has only ever worked in Coast Salish styles, and while he was working on a Master’s Degree at the University of Victoria, focused on the lack of literature around Coast Salish artwork. He especially wants to enact his own culture because he noticed a lot of literature seemed biased towards northern Northwest Coast artwork over Coast Salish. lessLIE is mostly Cowichan, and his father’s side is Penelakut. Growing up in Seattle, he was raised by carver Gary Rice of Musqueam, but Rice worked in more of a Kwakwaka'wakw style, he said. “He would invite me down in the basement, which is where he worked,” he said. “He encouraged me to become an artist, and so from the time I was six it was my childhood dream to become an artist and from that time onward I drew.” Now that he has found success as an artist, he is eager to pass that encouragement down to the next generation. Throughout his life he has mostly lived in cities, but for the past three years lessLIE has been living in a more rural environment at Snaw-naw-as First Nation with his partner Amanda Bob, stepson and young daughter. “I never imagined myself living here,” he reflected. “But I enjoy it, it’s really peaceful and calm.” SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 7
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY CELEBRATED Photos by Tricia Thomas On June 21, events were held in Coast Salish communities and across Canada in celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day (formerly Aboriginal Day). Stz'uminus, Snuneymuxw and Cowichan members were part of one event at Transfer Beach Park in Ladysmith, with dance performances, cedar weaving and speeches. In Campbell River, members of Homalco and surrounding nations attended an event at Spirit Square for music, art and kids' activities.
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Opposite page, clockwise from top: • Cowichan Tzinqua dancers. • Cedar weaving. • Friendship Circle. This page: Top: Stzuminus primary students perform. Right: Stzuminus grade 3 students perform. Above: Stzuminus primary kids. Cutout: Cowichan Tzinqua dancer.
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Members of Homalco Nation celebrated National Indigenous Peoples Day with music. Earlier in the day, the city of Campbell River raised an Indigenous Canadian flag by Kwakwaka'wakw artist Mulitzas (Curtis Wilson). –Photos by Todd Peacey
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SNUNEYMUXW FIRST NATION Hazelwood is currently working with the Snuneymuxw First Nation. We are upgrading underground utilities, building a new sub-division, upgrading the roadways and building a new lacrosse box across from the Longhouse. HazelwoodConstruction.com
BUILDING FIRST NATION ECONOMIES
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 11
Cathy Busby: WE CALL. Installation view Teck Gallery, 2017. Photo: Blaine Campbell.
TRC CALLS TO ACTION COVER WALLS OF NEW EXHIBIT Artist Cathy Busby’s WE CALL is about finding ways to make recommendations reality By Tessa Vikander The recently opened WE CALL exhibit is loud, and not just because its text murals span two large walls from floor to ceiling. Behind the scenes of the display at Simon Fraser University’s Teck Gallery, a community consultation process around decolonization is in the works. Artist Cathy Busby’s commanding exhibit opened this spring, and is showing at the gallery until April 2018. Busby’s chunky, colourful text murals 12 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Amy Kazymerchyk
spell-out an abridged version of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s “calls to action” that were issued two years ago. The commission’s 94 calls to action, largely aimed at government, were made after a six-year investigation into Canada’s residential school system that involved hearing testimony from thousands of survivors across the country. “I selected and edited the calls that are directed towards government agencies responsible for education, post-secondary institutions and cultural organizations,” says Busby’s artist statement.
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I’ve learned something about time and endurance and commitment. Doing social work like this takes time. Display curator Amy Kazymerchyk said she first conceived of the show in January 2016, after attending an art lecture where the presenter urged indigenous and non-indigenous artists to engage with the TRC’s findings. Knowing that Busby had previous experience creating installations around settler and Indigenous politics, Kazymerchyk approached her. Busby agreed to the project of making a highly-visible installation of the calls to action. “We said okay, let’s just make them public for a year,” said Kazymerchyk, Interviewed at the installation site, Kazymerchyk said the murals are “not aggressive, but assertive...non-apologetic, it feels like it really commands the space.” Beyond the exhibit, Kazymerchyk and Busby are engaged in a consultation process with faculties that are frequently addressed in the TRC’s calls to action, discussing ways they can adopt the report’s recommendations. This, noted Kazymerchyk, is separate but in conversation with an existing TRC response committee called the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council. Kazymerchyk said the consultation process has been slow, thoughtful and guided by indigenous members of the SFU community. What she has found most surprising, she said, is that all the faculty have shown keen interest in incorporating indigenous knowledge into their curriculum. “The will was what I thought was most compelling,” she said. That, explained Kazymerchyk, is because with big institutions where standards are established over years of repetition, it’s easy to think that those involved don’t want to change the status quo. Inspired by the Indigenous faculty members she and Busby have met with, Kazymerchyk said she’s learned a lot. “I think I’ve learned something about time and endurance and commitment. Doing social work like this takes time...people really have been doing this work [before us].”
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SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 13
PLANT MEDICINE Two days of learning from Cowichan Elder Della Rice Sylvester
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Story and photos by Tricia Thomas
Traditional medicine is being sought after by more people who are choosing not to use pharmaceuticals for maintaining good health. Many of us have developed a reliance on Western medicine; however, we are learning to believe in our own healing ability using natural remedies. There are countless medicinal plants and herbs growing all around us. Many of these plants are considered weeds nowadays, but they have been used for thousands of years for everything – from shampoo and nail care to treatments for stomach ulcers, diabetes, and even cancer. On June 9-10, I attended a traditional medicine workshop in Skutz Falls led by Della Rice Sylvester, an Elder from Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island. She attributes a lot of her teachings to her grandparents and her Auntie Ellen White, a legendary medicine woman from Snuneymuxw. The first day, we gathered in a yurt where Della welcomed everyone as she handed out guchmein. She sang a song, inviting us to take part, and then showed participants how to clean off any bad energy around the body before explaining the medicinal uses of many different local plants. She shared her knowledge through fascinating stories the same way the Elders had taught her. One example is her devil’s club story: “Devil’s club grows in a community. Generally, it is gathered in the winter when the leaves are not growing. Devil’s club is like the king of the castle, It is really, really picky. If it likes you, it likes you – if it doesn’t, it really doesn’t. If you don’t like it, it doesn’t like you. “Devil’s club is number one treatment for arthritis, all the itis’s, and diabetes; number one because it reboots the immune system… Every day a nurse came to see my uncle Don to check on him and give an insulin shot for diabetes. I said, ‘Uncle, I made you this tea.’ (it was devil’s club) ‘It’s for your diabetes.’ So, I sent him away with a gallon of tea…[and] he went without his insulin shot for six months! Devil’s club stays in the body for six months.”
Guchmein is also called wild celery and or Indian celery, can be eaten fresh or cooked. Seed are used as a diuretic, immune booster, and, for the treatment of tuberculosis. It is traditionally used in ceremonies and for protection.
Devil’s club is number one treatment for arthritis, all the itis’s, and diabetes; number one because it reboots the immune system.
When it was time to go on a interpretative plant walk, I imagined a long trek into the forest but Della stopped right outside the door and pointed out the little yellow-flowered plant growing next to the yurt. Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s Wort) is used to fight inflammation, nerve damage, depression, PMS and menopause, and even cancer. Some of the other plants on our walk were burdock, yellow dock, curly dock, Nootka rose, sword fern, comfrey, plantain, snowberry, and licorice fern. Della had a story about the healing power of each plant we came across. For example, licorice fern root can be eaten or used for colds and sore throats, and it thins the blood. During the second day, participants had an opportunity to harvest medicinal
Broad leaf plantain.
plants and prepare a hair and nail treatment. Della explained the importance of giving thanks and picking medicine with intent, having appreciation and good feelings about what you are doing. “If you pick medicine with intent, the medicine knows what it’s going to do…when we go to the store, we don’t know where it came from, so you have to re-intention it.” The workshop was an enlightening introduction into Indigenous methods of healing and it gave us an awareness of Mother Nature’s medicine cabinet. Elders like Della play an important role in our communities by sharing traditional plant knowledge passed down from Elders, as well as cultural teachings about our relationship and responsibility to the land. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 15
Della preparing sage and Patricia adding the blackberry to the plant mixture for processing.
Sword fern can be used as a topical pain reliever.
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St. John's Wort.
Della Sylvester (Rice) showing participants the blackerry and explaining its medicinal uses.
ELDERS’ THERAPY WORK INSPIRATION FOR HEALING GARDEN Outside of the Snaw-naw-as Health Centre on a sunny day, community elders Bonnie Jones and Debbie Bob are busy transferring plants into bigger pots. “That was my exercise for today,” said Bob after she finished up the day’s replanting. She and Jones regularly work together doing various activities such as canning, cooking, sewing and Coast Salish weaving. The work is part of their ongoing occupational therapy led by Alison Drennan, who has worked at Snaw-naw-as for three years. “It’s exercise and it’s good for thinking, good for getting out, and overall wellness,” she explained. “(The elders) come up with ideas and I facilitate it.” Drennan said the community’s latest big project that’s now being built, the Snaw-naw-as Garden of Spiritual Healing, was inspired by the elders’ work. The new garden was a vision of former chief David Bob, who passed away earlier this year, and will be used for therapy, education and community gatherings. Parts of the garden will soon be ready, while the full garden is expected to be completed by 2019. The name for the Snaw-naw-as Garden of Spiritual Healing was thought up by elders, but Drennan said she had a different name in mind. “I wanted to call it the Debbie and Bonnie Garden,” she said, smiling. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 17
TSLEIL-WAUTUTH ELDER RECEIVES AWARD FOR VISIONARY WORK Margaret George honoured at Native Education College gala Tsleil-Waututh elder Margaret George has been honoured for a lifetime of visionary work around education and community service. George was honoured at Native Education College’s sixth annual awards gala to honour alumni. The event took place at Musqueam on June 2, and the Gertie Gertrude Visionary Award was presented to George as the last award of the evening. George said the award is particularly meaningful to her because the award's namesake, Gertrude, was her close friend and colleague. The two worked together on the Downtown Eastside and were founding members of NEC. When the government wanted to shut down the school, they used teamwork to save the school’s funding. 18 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
“She was my mentor, she was a leader, she was a lady you looked up to,” George said about Guerin. “She always said, we don’t want this to be a white man’s program. We want this to be something Native students feel very comfortable in.” George also thanked the school for helping her to become successful in her own career through teaching her how to do things such as develop curriculum, read financial statements and how to deal with government. George was a community service worker on the Downtown Eastside for more than 20 years. “That was a bucket of responsibilities,” she said. “You had to be a counsellor, an accountant, a writer and you had to be able to
help parents when they went to court. You had to understand the legal system.” George is currently on her 17th year as an elder-in-residence at Simon Fraser University, and has also been an elder-inresidence at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology for eight years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia, a Diploma in the Chemical Addictions Program at NVIT and a Certificate of Achievement from the Justice Institute of B.C. Along with NEC, she has served on a number of boards including the Vancouver Friendship Centre, the Allied Indian Metis Society and Women’s Information Centre: Home. She has five children, five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
HALALT KIDS LEARN ABOUT SEA LIFE Children learned about the ocean by looking at artifacts and live animals that were brought to the community by the Vancouver Aquarium on May 28. – Photos by Tricia Thomas
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TRANSFORMATION & ART Two-spirit artist Raven John talks about finding her true self through Coast Salish stories
By Tessa Vikander Raven John’s namesake, the raven, is “a trickster, a teacher, a transformer,” something John relates to as a two-spirit artist and activist. John – of Coast Salish (Sechelt) and Stó:lō (Chawathil) background -- is a recent graduate from Emily Carr University and is currently enrolled in the Northwest Coast Jewellery Arts program at Native Education College (NEC). John was also a participant in this year’s two-spirit themed Queer Arts Festival in Vancouver. The Sentinel caught up with John at NEC. Sentinel: Can you tell me about the current work you're doing with Amanda Strong [of the Indigenous stop-motion animation company Spotted Fawn Productions]? 20 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
John: The most recent film that they're working on is addressing gender fluidity in relation to Indigenous spirituality and story which is really important to me because transformation is a very big part of Coast Salish Indigeneity, a lot of the cultures rely very heavily on transformation, you're gifted or cursed through transformation in many different ways and places are given their namesake because of people who are transformed into mountains, rivers the fish and beasts that we feed from are sometimes derived from people who sacrificed their bodies to be, to give the people access to those animals. (For the film) I've been sculpting the faces of the main characters, both animal spiritual and human, and working with them on some of the design aspects of those characters. I'll be working with them on some of their set decorating as well.
Sentinel: You mention the importance of stories in Coast Salish culture. Are there any particular stories that you relate to in terms of your own gender fluidity? John: Quite obviously, raven is very strong with me and my family. The raven is a trickster, a teacher, a transformer, and the first story I was told growing up, about the raven, was about how the raven stole the sun and the stars, and in the story raven transforms itself into a pine needle, which drops into the drinking water of the chieftain's daughter and he then impregnates her and becomes her child, who later, being a spoiled brat, steals the treasures of that chieftain which were the sun, moon and stars. I remember very specifically when I was around five standing in front of the patio doors, in Chilliwack, in the house I grew
Transformation is a very big part of Coast Salish Indigeneity, a lot of the cultures rely very heavily on transformation. up in, and seeing my reflection vaguely through the rain, with my long hair and my childish features I actually turned to my mom and [even though I was born female] I asked her if I was a girl or a boy. “Am I a girl now?” And that was, I guess, because I developed quite quickly, which, I was always very tall, which was very hard to deal with, especially living in a small town, my mother had to *laughs* basically be with me at all times because people would assume that I was older than I was, and being objectified at such a young age was very difficult. But before I started developing through my sexual maturity I felt most at home dressing androgynously. Which obviously as I progressed through puberty became very difficult to pass, and that's something that I struggle with now because I feel that my gender and sexual identity are heavily related to my spiritual ties to the stories of raven and raven as a transformer. Sentinel: Do you remember what your mom said to you when you asked her that question? John: She said that I was obviously a girl. Sentinel: How did that resonate with you? John: It didn't affect me too much as a kid, except that I was a bit frustrated that I would ever have to choose, that I had one way, supposedly one way to live. and I feel like I should be able to express myself as he, she or they, but given my body type it's very difficult to do that, well to pass in a way that I would be satisfied. Sentinel: You now identify as two-spirit. Can you explain what that means to you? John: For me it means having a gender and sexual orientation in relation to my spirituality as an Indigenous person, someone from Coast Salish and Stó:lō territories. Sentinel: Going forward what are your plans? John: For the rest of my life I'm hoping to be making art, just continuing to make art, and I plan on taking up spaces that future generations can see themselves in and themselves beyond. When I was a teenager or a youth, going to Emily Carr, I didn't think that that was possibility, and I sometimes mourn for myself that I did not think highly enough of myself that I could go to this university, and get my degree from it. And a lot of that has to do with the legal and institutionalized and social racism that I encountered growing up. But seeing the cleverness and humour and talent in the youths from my communities in Hope and in Mission and Chilliwack I know that how far they can go and that they can go much farther than me in their careers if they had the support, they had the opportunity and it's been my goal to take up space in the public eye to show indigenous youth that they can do what I'm doing, and that they can do much more. This interview has been shortened and edited. Some parts of this interview also appeared in a piece for Megaphone Magazine.
VANCOUVER ISLAND REGIONAL LIBRARY is now recruiting an
ELDER IN
RESIDENCE To begin our journey towards Truth and Reconciliation, VIRL is implementing an Elder in Residence program. relationship between Indigenous and nonIndigenous communities. If you are, or know, an Indigenous Elder who would be interested, please contact Joëlle Samson atjsamson@virl.bc.ca or 250.287.3655 . The search continues until July 31, 2017 . STRONG LIBRARIES | STRONG COMMUNITIES
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 21
NEW CULTURAL TOUR BEGINS AT HOMALCO Nation partnered with Sonora Resort to offer the tour featuring cedar weaving, canoeing, songs and more Cascading waterfalls, glacier-fed teal ocean water and mountain ranges for miles. This is the home of the Homalco people, known to some as Orford Bay, located about two hours by boat from Campbell River. This year Homalco has partnered with Sonora Resort to offer a new cultural tour of its territory. The tours began on June 1. During a tour on June 10, tour guests learned to weave cedar bark, observed traditional song and dance, sampled traditional foods and paddled in a Coast Salish canoe. Sonora Resort CEO Wynne Powell said the tour made sense after working with Homalco for many years on its grizzly bear watching program. “It was a natural fit for us to partner on a cultural experience,” he said in a statement. The new tours are available for a short time before Homalco Wildlife Tours transitions into their grizzly bear tours in August. More information is available at thebearsofbute.com.
Photos by Todd Peacey
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NEW HALALT GARDEN WILL PROMOTE HEALTH By Edith Moore, NmTC communications Liason H’ulh’etun Health Society along with the Heart and Stroke Foundation have devised a plan to integrate a new garden into the Halalt community. The garden will promote communal activities of harvesting, distribution and preparing produce, and will emphasize a traditional culture of cooperation and education. The community garden will combine social development, economic, education experiences into food security. The fresh food grown in the garden will go towards the monthly Good Food Box program provided to the Elders, diabetics and the community, fresh right from the garden. The food will be preserved, by canning and freezing as well to provide garden richness throughout the year. Community members will be able to access the fruits and vegetables by walking out their door. The membership will have gained knowledge and education to become more self sufficient and have the skills to live off the land. Since work began on May 2, the garden has seen some major cleaning up of the greenhouses, and the planting of everything from strawberries to lettuce to tomatoes. Already there have been contributions by local nurseries. Tammy Morris, Erin Thomas, Brittany Tremblett, and Matthew Tremblett have proven to be a great start up team and are encouraging anyone who is interested in volunteering to come and join them at any point. In the near future there will be a Facebook page so that the community can see the progress and be involved in all the activities planned with education with the daycare and summer programs to open houses. This looks to be a great start to building a strong community, and we can all benefit if we are willing to work hard for what we want. 24 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
‘I WILL DIE FOR THIS LAND’: KINDER MORGAN OPPOSITION RAMPS UP Anti-pipeline campaigns and political shakeup in B.C. create roadblocks for company’s plans to start construction this fall Photos and story by Cara McKenna SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 25
When it comes to the Kinder Morgan pipeline, “There’s one thing that the government and all its representatives forgot,” said Musqueam activist Audrey Siegl, speaking to a crowd of hundreds. “That we come from warriors.” Siegl and others rallied at the gates of Kinder Morgan’s terminal in Burnaby at the end of a four-day walk against the company’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The 75 km “Walk for the Salish Sea” involved journeying from Victoria to Tsleil-Waututh territory, with marchers joining in at stops along the way, between May 25 and 28. Supporters included Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Coldwater Chief Lee Spahan and Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs. Tsleil-Waututh member Cedar George-Parker was emotional as he spoke about his family being impacted by Kinder Morgan. “I will fight for future generations, not by myself but I stand with my brothers and sisters here. We do not stand alone,” he said. “I will die for my brothers and sisters; I will die for the land. It will not go through.” The $7.4 billion expansion is set to triple the capacity of Kinder Morgan’s existing pipeline carrying Alberta oil to B.C., and increase tanker traffic by sevenfold in Tsleil-Waututh’s backyard. The project has already received provincial and federal approval, and Kinder Morgan has announced plans to start construction on the expansion this September. But in May and June, campaigns against the pipeline ramped up, as B.C.’s NDP and Green Party announced a partnership agreement that included a vow to stop Kinder Morgan. Tsleil-Waututh also warned potential investors about legal and political risks associated with the project before stocks started trading May 30. The community’s anti-pipeline initiative the Sacred Trust launched 26 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
We want to make it clear to anyone considering investing in this controversial project just how risky of an investment that would be.
a new website includes a briefing report summarizing the legal risks of the project. The report was sent out to a list of recipients including Canada’s five major banks and eight major public pension funds. Eugene Kung, a lawyer who works with the Sacred Trust, explained the legal brief discusses 19 current cases and adds detail and context to the risks disclosed by Kinder Morgan in their own documents. “People on Bay Street may not really
understand just how red hot opposition is in B.C. or how strong the legal rights of First Nations communities can be,” Kung said in a statement. “The message to potential investors is to be careful, this is not a smart investment.” The new website, kindermorganiporisks.ca, also includes a financial risk assessment and Tsleil-Waututh’s own environmental assessment documents. In mid-June, the nation also joined a group of 20 Indigenous and environmental groups that called on major banks to deny financing the pipeline. Tsleil-Waututh Councillor and Sacred Trust spokesperson Charlene Aleck said even though the project has federal permits, it does not have consent from local First Nations or many others in B.C. “We want to make it clear to anyone considering investing in this controversial project just how risky of an investment that would be,” she said.
‘WE HAVE SO MUCH TO LOSE’: WORKING TOGETHER ON OIL SPILL RESPONSE Coast Salish leaders from Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council member nations see an opportunity to form an oil spill response task force in light of increasing risks to the coast. And according to retired Canadian Coast Guard superintendent Don Rodden – it’s not a matter of if there’s a spill, but when. Don Rodden spoke at a NmTC board of directors’ meeting in Tsawwassen territory on May 25. At the meeting, NmTC staff agreed to look into oil spill response training opportunities. “It’s a case of, the cliché is, risk management,” Rodden said. Halalt Chief James Thomas agreed, underlining the need for teamwork among coastal communities. “We all need to be on the same page,” Thomas said. “It’s coming, at the end of the day, and we need to make sure we’re prepared for it. Snuneymuxw Councillor Doug White II, Snaw-naw-as Councillor Chris Bob, Klahoose Councillor Billy Barnes and Stz’uminus councillor Terry Sampson also expressed interest in working together on spill response preparation, given the government’s approval of Kinder Morgan. “We have so much to lose,” Barnes noted about the shellfish and other rich resources on the coast.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 27
From left: Chris Bob, Eve Bob, Edith Moore with baby Airlee, Janet Moore, Andrea Jacobs, Chrystalynn Gurniak and Valerie Cross-Blackett. –Photos by Cara McKenna
TOURING TSAWWASSEN MILLS Coast Salish leaders take a look at Tsawwassen Nation’s art-filled megamall
A group of people from various Coast Salish nations on Vancouver Island toured Tsawwassen nation’s newly opened mall on May 25. The leaders toured Tsawwassen Mills after a Naut’sa mawt Board of Directors’
28 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
meeting nearby. The event was led by Chrystalynn Gurniak, who works for the nation and was key in organizing artists and weavers for the mall. The centre incorporates art from several
Tsawwassen members, including Chief Bruce Williams, into its design through details from floors, ceilings, benches and sculpture. The 180-store shopping centre had its grand opening late last year.
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