Volume 14 . Issue 6
July 2018
Awaken the Canoes PAGES 14-20
Indigenizing Education SCHOOL GATHERING CELEBRATES HUL’QUMI’NUM PAGES 7-10
NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL NATIONS
Naut’sa mawt - Working together as one
EDITORIAL TEAM Cara McKenna – Editor editor@salishseasentinel.ca Todd Peacey – Photographer Celestine Aleck (Sahiltiniye) - Columnist Edith Moore - Columnist DESIGN & LAYOUT Kelly Landry & Carmel Ecker ADVERTISING & DISTRIBUTION Todd Peacey ads@salishseasentinel.ca 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 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.
COVER PHOTO: Tla’amin canoes arrive at Squirrel Cove in Klahoose territory on May 18 for the Awaken the Canoes event. Photo by Cara McKenna.
The Salish Sea map was created in 2009 by Stefan Freelan at Western Washington University
1. HALALT (250) 246-4736 chief@halalt.org www.halalt.org 2. HOMALCO (250) 923-4979 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. TLA’AMIN (604) 483-9646 clint.williams@tn-bc.ca www.tlaaminnation.com 6. SNAW-NAW-AS (Nanoose) (250) 390-3661 chris.bob@nanoose.org www.nanoose.org
7. SNUNEYMUXW (Nanaimo) (250) 740-2300 www.snuneymuxw.ca 8. STZ’UMINUS (Ladysmith) (250) 245-7155 Ray.Gauthier@coastsalishdevcorp.com www.stzuminus.com 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
Susan Point is presented with the 2018 Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts by Audain Curator Grant Arnold on May 24. Photo by Pardeep Singh.
SUSAN POINT HONOURED WITH 2018 AUDAIN PRIZE Musqueam artist recognized for innovation and impact on modern Coast Salish art Musqueam artist Susan Point has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her ongoing impact and influence on contemporary Coast Salish art. Point was presented with the 2018 Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts during an event in downtown Vancouver on May 24. The prestigious annual award is supported by the Audain Foundation 2 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
and grants $30,000 to a senior B.C. artist who is selected by an independent jury. Guests at the award ceremony heard how Point has shaped and revitalized Coast Salish artmaking during her 38-year career. Grant Arnold, the Audain curator of B.C. art at the Vancouver Art Gallery, spoke of how Coast Salish artwork only recently had a resurgence after being
systemically suppressed by colonization and in favour of the more widely-known formline style of the Northwest Coast. “Susan was one of the few Coast Salish artists producing work in the early 1980s and she’s played a crucial role in the resurgence of contemporary Coast Salish art-making,” he said. “She has continually pushed traditional boundaries in her desire to articulate Coast Salish culture.”
Susan was one of the few Coast Salish artists producing work in the early 1980s and she’s played a crucial role in the resurgence of contemporary Coast Salish art-making.
Point started out making jewelry, and over the years moved on to creating larger scale pieces using a variety of materials including glass, resin, concrete, paper and wood. At first Point was not recognized for her art because she pushed the boundaries of tradition—at the start of her career it was considered unusual for a woman to carve as it was an activity largely done by men. Her use of bright colours was also questioned because Coast Salish art was typically uncoloured, and skepticism increased when she started working with non-traditional materials such as glass, Arnold explained. But Point’s contemporary style has now became widely acclaimed and is the benchmark for other Coast Salish artists. She is particularly known for her many public commissions that include welcoming figures in the Vancouver airport and cast iron spindle whorl sewer covers. When she accepted her award, Point said she is grateful every day to create professional artwork in her contemporary Coast Salish style. “It’s a way for me to share my stories,” she said. “It’s been a lifelong journey, and a very special one as it has kept my family working very closely together.” Point is the daughter of Edna Grant and Anthony Point, and the niece of Dominic Point and Mike Kew. She said her family passed along the Musqueam stories that continue to influence her artwork, and she is now passing that on to the next generations. “I believe you can’t make an artist an artist, it’s … within you,” she said in a video that was played before she accepted her award. “To leave behind all of this is something for my grandchildren to carry on in the future, that’s what I hope.”
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STZ’UMINUS OPENS NEW HOTEL IN OYSTER BAY Hotel is the latest for community’s development, with upcoming plans for market, restaurants A new hotel is now open at Stz’uminus First Nation as the community continues to expand its development alongside the TransCanada Highway. The growing Oyster Bay project has been operating for about a year and half now with offices, a gas station and a Tim Hortons. An 81-room hotel opened in midMay, with Stz’uminus holding 83 per cent interest in the project in partnership with MasterBUILT Hotels. The hotel is part of the Microtel Inn & Suites chain, but has uniquely Stz’uminus touches such as the community’s logo embroidered on bedding, a map of the territory and Coast Salish artwork adorning common areas. Ray Gauthier, CEO of the nationowned Coast Salish Development Corporation, said the community is al-
ready seeing a profit from Oyster Bay, and it’s just the beginning for the property. He said there are tentative plans for a development beside the hotel to house a market set up including a liquor store, bakery, coffee shop, fishmonger and other amenities. “In the summer we would have outdoor markets where people could come and buy organic vegetables, lettuce, picked fruit,” he said. “It could provide a good opportunity for people again to come by off the
highway, pick up whatever they might need, and get on with it.” Gauthier said the community is also looking at developing restaurants. “Because of the highway, in this 5.5 acres, we’re going to have like 75,000 to 100,000 square feet of commercial retail and the hotel,” he said. “But we’re not jamming it in. We’re still trying to do things responsibly and not trying to overcrowd.” Stz’uminus has set aside a total of 65 acres aside for development in Oyster Bay, which Gauthier said will create up to 300 jobs in total and other benefits back to the community. Stz’uminus has been expanding its empire since the community voted ‘yes’ to First Nation Land Management in December of 2013, meaning the nation opted out of part of the Indian Act to reassume control over its own lands. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 5
INDIGENIZING EDUCATION:
HUL’QUMI’NUM GATHERING HELD ON VANCOUVER ISLAND Maleah Harris of Stz’uminus shared a song during a student language showcase at Ladysmith Secondary School on May 29.
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Two-day language symposium part of wider effort to teach Coast Salish culture in public schools Photos and story by Cara McKenna An annual Hul’qumi’num language event on Vancouver Island grew substantially this year as area schools aim to educate K-12 students about Coast Salish culture. The t’uxusthumpsh Indigenous language symposium brought together students, teachers, elders and other knowledge holders for two days of Hul’qumi’num-related events. T’uxusthumpsh, meaning “share with me,” was organized by Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools, the Cowichan Valley School District, Vancouver Island University and the B.C. Ministry of Education. The symposium took place on May 29 and 30th in Snuneymuxw and Stz’uminus territory. The event was previously a one-day Hul’qumi’num speaking competition for students in area school districts called “Spuptitul.” But Anne Tenning of the NanaimoLadysmith school district said this year the event’s organizers decided to take away the competition element and to grow the event. “This is our biggest student language gathering ever,” said Tenning, who is the district’s vice principal in Aboriginal education and a member of Stz’uminus First Nation. On the first day of the symposium, 250 Indigenous and non-Indigenous students gathered at Ladysmith Secondary School to share stories, songs and words in Hul’qumi’num. On day two, a conference event took place in Nanaimo where educators from various school districts came together to learn from Indigenous language teachers, local elders, and each other. At the student language showcase, Snaw-naw-as member Lawrence Mitchell (Ćumqwa:tun) watched proudly as students, including his 11-year-old daughter, sang songs and told stories in Hul’qumi’num. “This is very beautiful,” he said. Mitchell has been working with the NanaimoLadysmith school district on their efforts to Indigenize the curriculum. Besides teaching Hul’qumi’num, students have been learning about Coast Salish weaving, interviewing elders, doing reconciliationfocused exercises and more. For Mitchell, who wasn’t able to celebrate 8 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
his Coast Salish culture growing up, it is especially meaningful to see such impactful changes within just one generation. “A long time ago this district had a rough patch in my life and now that I’m back here older, it’s actually lifting me up and healing me,” he said. “One of the things that I’m really happy about is that the people of this time and this era are opening their hearts and minds … because that lifts us up and that lets us know that we matter.” The work has been able to blossom thanks to B.C.-wide curriculum requirements implemented in 2016 that require a greater focus on Indigenous history and culture. In Nanaimo-Ladysmith, there are now four fulltime Hul’qumi’num teachers, and one part-timer, who together are able to reach three quarters of schools in the district. Adam Manson of Snuneymuxw, who started teaching the language in September, said students have been eager to learn. “It’s been amazing,” he said. “When I walk into a classroom, they’re all sitting there very respectfully. I take one look at them and say, ‘wow, you’re sitting like this, I can teach you anything.’” Organizers of t’uxusthumpsh hope that feedback from the symposium will allow schools to do even more to uplift Indigenous languages, most of which are in dire straits in B.C. after the devastating impact of residential schools. Tenning said decolonizing an education system that previously contributed to the erasure of Indigenous culture is no easy task. “It’s challenging when most of us came through a K-12 system where local culture and language wasn’t present,” said Tenning. “But we’re trying to do this in a really big way, not just pockets of learning here and there, but how can we influence (the system) as a whole?” But Mitchell said he is hopeful for the future generations, because they are hungry to keep learning more. “It’s feeding something in a different way to Indigenous and non-Indigenous (students),” he said. “They keep wanting more and we’re trying to do our best to make sure that we get to share more.”
Lawrence Mitchell of Snaw-naw-as speaks at the student language showcase.
Snuneymuxw Elder Gary Manson led a ceremony for students witnessing events during the language symposium.
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Students from Stz’uminus Community School, above, and Qualicum School District, bottom left, presented at the language showcase on May 29.
Cowichan Tzinquaw dancers opened the symposium events on day two.
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THE ELDER PROJECT: AGNES PADILLA By Beatrix Taylor, Ladysmith Secondary School Students in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district recently interviewed Vancouver Island elders and wrote poems about their lives for two recently released poetry books. The initiative was part of The Elder Project, an effort started by renowned poet Wendy Morton as a way to connect elders with local students. The poem below about Snuneymuxw Elder Agnes Padilla originally appeared in the book ‘The Rivers Where We Sing’ and is reprinted here with permission. More poems can be viewed at www.theelderproject.com.
I am from Snuneymuxw, raised by my dad’s mom. My dad married twice, survived residential school. My grandmother taught me. I went hunting and clam digging with my dad. Every word out of my mouth was “why?” My grandmother called me “why” in our language. I had two brothers I never knew, and three I looked after. My grandmother told me we’re all equal to everybody. I lived in Nanaimo, a small house and one big room. Our life was hard, but it wasn’t. We ate from the ocean, the mountains: oysters, clams, duck, deer, elk. I never played games, I didn’t have time. I went to school on the reserve. We didn’t learn fast enough for the teachers. I only went to the third grade. I got married when I was 19, had four boys. I became a single mother. I worked on a berry farm. Then I put myself through school, got a job in electronics, building computers. I held down three jobs. I watched all my sons grow up and finish their education. My head swells up when I talk about them. Now, I teach my language.
TLA’AMIN FIRST NATION TERRITORY
Powell River penstock #4 repair and replacement project for Powell River Energy Inc. Members of the Tla’amin First Nation worked with Hazelwood to complete repairs on the 14 ft diameter, 1580 ft long, steel riveted penstock that was originally constructed in 1925. HazelwoodConstruction.com
BUILDING FIRST NATION ECONOMIES
12 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
DR. LORNA WILLIAMS GIVES KEYNOTE AT VIU Williams shared knowledge about revitalizing Indigenous languages in classrooms during t’uxusthumpsh symposium Educators took advice on incorporating Indigenous languages into their classrooms during a keynote speech at Vancouver Island University on May 29. Dr. Lorna Wanosts’a7 Williams of Lil’wat Nation talked about the importance of decolonizing schools during a special evening event at the t’uxusthumpsh Indigenous language symposium. Williams has spent her career revitalizing language and culture within the education system and her own community. She told a group that included school district representatives, K-12 teachers and university officials that educators must ask themselves what they can do to support language revitalization. “The first thing that I would like to ask you to do is to learn about the Indigenous languages of the land your district serves, that your school serves,” she said. “Our languages were destroyed because of education. They have been marginalized because of the way that education in this country is structured. The only way that we can begin to be able to address this is if we work together.” Williams has been working to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into classrooms long before it became a curriculum requirement in B.C. in 2016. In 1973, she was part of opening the second band-run school in Canada in Mount Currie, where she worked to develop an innovative curriculum that meshed Lil’wat and Euro-Canadian knowledge together. She also led the development of degrees in Indigenous Language Revitalization and Counseling in Indigenous Communities at the University of Victoria, along with a mandatory course in Indigenous education for teaching students. Williams was recently honoured with a 2018 Indspire award for her work in education.
Williams said throughout her career, she has seen firsthand the impact that learning language can have on youth. “When young people learn their language, learn the beauty of their language, it just gives them so much strength,” she said. “But it can only happen when young people have somebody to talk to, share with, learn with, learn from. That’s why schools need to …think about education as being lifelong, community wide and land-based.” Williams also spoke about the fact that Canada’s more-than 60 Indigenous languages must be recognized as having value—something that hasn’t been the case for much of the country’s recent history. She said languages are born from the land and thus are key to keeping that land and the people on it healthy and thriving. Williams said that also means that Indigenous language students must get back to nature. “I have watched young people learn their language out on the land and… I can see there’s such a deep hunger to reconnect those relationships,” she said. “Culture and identity is an important part of this work. That’s why it’s important that our worldview has to be a part of the way that we deliver the language services.” Williams concluded by saying that school districts trying to Indigenize their curriculums also must find ways to learn from the Indigenous language speakers who have been fighting to keep their languages alive. “We have to really be sure that we’re not going against the Indigenous worldview of the people we are serving,” she said. “Not only do we all need to work on decolonization and decolonizing our practice, we must also really learn the people of the land. Their ways of being. That must be reflected in what we teach and how we teach.”
AWAKEN TH PULLERS PR SUMMER JOURNE By Cara McKenna • Photos by
HE CANOES: REPARE FOR EYS AT KLAHOOSE Cara McKenna and Kyle Charlie
Guests welcomed to Klahoose shores before participating in emergency training, practice Jodi Simkin was the director of Tribal Journeys last year when a U.S. canoe went down in Nanoose, ejecting pullers into the cold and tumultuous ocean water. A dramatic video of the incident quickly made the rounds on Facebook and, as of this year, has been viewed more than 15,000 times. But when Simkin got a phone call about the incident from one of the accompanying support boat captains, he was completely calm, ensuring her that everything was fine and the paddlers were rescued. “He said: ‘Hey I don’t want you to see this on Facebook or anything and I don’t want you to panic,’” she recalled. “’Everyone is fine, everyone is accounted for, no big deal.’” So Simkin moved on with her day-today tasks and didn’t think much more of it. It wasn’t until months later that she came across video of the incident on YouTube and was alarmed at how treacherous the situation actually looked. She quickly realized that had it been a different, less-experienced canoe in the same situation, things could have been much worse. “U.S. canoes are well-versed in safety exercises, it just didn’t seem alarming to them, but it wasn’t that they didn’t care. It was that the American canoes are so prepared because they do cold water and deep water training all year,” she said. “We started having a conversation about how we could work with the Canadian Coast Guard (in a similar way).” Shortly after Tribal Canoe Journeys ended last year, Simkin was hired as a director of cultural affairs and heritage with Klahoose First Nation. She quickly got to work in organizing a weekend-long canoe event to prepare pullers for Tribal Canoe Journeys. The event called Awaken the Canoes (ti:ǰit nuxʷɛɬ) took place in mid-May, and involved pullers from five canoes including one from Klahoose and two from Tla’amin. The pullers met in Klahoose territory where the Canadian Coast Guard provided safety information and offered tips on how to prepare for emergencies on the water. The 16 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
next day, canoes headed out to practice in local waters. Klahoose Chief Kevin Peacey said when Simkin came to leadership with the idea to prepare for larger summer canoe journeys, they were immediately on board. He said having members of the nation participate in canoe journeys is part of a wider vision to revive culture in the community. That has included re-establishing ancient connections between sister nations Klahoose, Tla’amin and Homalco that were broken during colonization. “We’re still doing our culture night every Wednesday night, we’ve learned our own songs now and we have five new songs,” said Peacey, who was elected last April. “In the last paddle we did last year we actually got to hang out most of the trip with Homalco and Tla’amin. We got to go into the big house together and we sang together and drummed together.
It was so powerful and it’s something we haven’t done.” Before Awaken the Canoes, Simkin tracked down some paperwork about Klahoose in an American museum that contained information about an “Earth Oven” that the nation used hundreds of years ago. When canoes arrived in Klahoose on May 18, they were served meat and vegetables that were prepared in that traditional way, involving layering the food over hot coals with salal and other plants. “It’s amazing to learn about Klahoose and about what we did back in the day,” Peacey said. “Jodi is working hard on bringing a lot of stuff back for us, so we’re going to go back to our old ways.” Klahoose is one of ninety nations registered to participate in the 2018 Tribal Canoe Journey to Puyallup, WA, between July 28 and August 4.
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TLA’AMIN NATION TO HOST TRIBAL JOURNEYS 2021 Marlane Christensen discusses history of event as pullers prepare for this year’s journey to Pullayup, WA By Marlane Christensen, Tla’amin Nation Tla’amin Nation has made a commitment to host Tribal Journeys in 2021. The shores of Tla’amin will be the last stop for the canoe families, and the community will welcome and host up to 100 canoes and thousands of canoe family members. Tribal (Canoe) Journeys is a revival of the traditional method of coastal travel and transportation and is a significant cultural experience for all participants. Tribal Journeys began in 1989, when the ‘Paddle to Seattle’ took place as part of the 100th anniversary of Washington Statehood—an event that 15 Nations participated in. That year, the state and Indigenous governments signed the Centennial Accord, recognizing Indigenous sovereignty. Each year, a different Indigenous community hosts canoe pullers, support crews and other Indigenous communities across the Pacific Northwest, from Oregon to Haida Gwaii, B.C., and in 2017, as far away as the State of New York. Depending on the distance of the chosen route each year, the trip varies from two to four weeks in duration. On arrival, visiting canoe families ask permission to land, often in their Indigenous languages, with each canoe family sharing and respecting protocol of all others. Canoe Journeys is family-friendly and drug- and alcohol-free event. Canoe families depart their home waters in oceangoing canoes and converge on a series of host Nations along the chosen route and enjoy weeks of dancing, storytelling and feasting. It has been said that the journey is both political and personal to reclaim tradition and territory—and to share in a historic and traditional activity with other family members who they may have been separated from and suffer from the intergenerational trauma of residential schools. The journey for many, is about reclaiming or embracing identify as Indigenous people. Julian Brave NoiseCat of the Canim Lake Band in B.C. stated that Tribal Journeys is central to the resurgence of the Indigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest. That is brings communities together to paddle ancestral waterways, and that it challenges elders and youth to revive old songs and dances and compose new ones. In an age of digital relationships, it brings families together to celebrate and work through troubles. It reintroduces people to water in an elemental way, reminding us that water sustains life. 18 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
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COAST SALISH STORIES
THE FIRST STAGE OF LIFE
By Celestine Aleck (Sahiltiniye) of Snuneymuxw First Nation Lately, the topic of “the first stage of life” has come up while I have been talking to other Indigenous mothers. In Coast Salish teachings, the first stage of life refers to the one-year period when children start becoming adults. There are four stages of life in total, and the second, third and fourth stages of life involve other key teachings around loss and ceremony. But what happens during the first stage is largely what shapes us for the rest of our lives and is of crucial importance for that reason. This is the time when young Coast Salish men and women traditionally go through puberty rites, which includes taking river or ocean baths, and learning crucial skills such as hunting and fishing as well as cultural teachings. Some children seem to be going through the first stage of
life at a young age, while some are in grade six or seven. As a single mother, I helped my son with his first stage of life when he was 12. It was a learning process for both of us as I was not fortunate enough to have these teachings when I came into my own first stage. Now being a single mother to a son, I had to find out what my son needed to do during his first ocean bath, and how many days he had to follow these beautiful teachings. All I knew was that the first year of how my son carried himself would determine how he would be until his second or third stage. I had explained to him that this is why I was passing these teachings along. This process went on for a whole year before he became a young man. When the time came for my son’s first stage of life, I too was going through a stage in life, with menopause, which made it especially challenging. There were times when I would have a talk with my son about his temperament and the need to be calm, and all of the sudden a hot flash would hit me and I’d have to fight to be calm myself. But he would always be kind enough to get me a glass of water. I am so proud of my son, because he never hesitates to help people. He doesn’t let his temper get the best of him and remains calm in any situation. As I sat writing this article, he came and asked me if I would like breakfast cooked for me, and I think I must have done something right if my now 15-year-old son is thoughtful enough to do something nice for his mom. To this day, I always try to share teachings while we are around a table sharing a meal so that he will always remember the teachings.
I believe that in order for us to have a strong, healthy future, we should make every effort possible to raise our children with the teachings that our ancestors fought so hard to keep alive. Residential school really took a toll on our ways of life which is the reason these teachings have not had a chance to be handed down. Our dear survivors have carried their hurt for many years, because when they had come home from residential school many had felt as though they didn’t fit in within the community anymore or did not have the courage to share what had happen to them. Many of the families that had lost their children to residential school never had a chance to pass along teachings to them. It truly has disrupted our ways of life, but I am ever so thankful for the elders that had truly fought hard to keep these teachings alive. I would love to see these teachings come back strong with our youth in their first stage of life. We need to raise our children to be strong, and I see that strength in teachings that have been handed down from our ancestors. We must lift our youth up and let them know anything is possible. I think one way we can start to heal is by sharing our stories with each other, and learning from each other. If there is a teaching or story you would like to share relating to this column or others, or if you have any questions, please by all means email me at: celestinealeck@gmail.com. Celestine is a published writer/illustrator who considers herself very fortunate to have learned some of the rich stories of Coast Salish territory from her elders. She can be contacted at celestinea @snuneymuxw.ca.
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KLAHOOSE BEGINS GLOBAL SEARCH FOR MISSING ANCESTORS Community aims to repatriate remains from institutions around the world Klahoose is now in the process of searching for ancestral remains from around the world after receiving a 12-month grant to assist their repatriation efforts. Work officially began this Spring after the nation received funding assistance from the federal Museum Assistance Program through Canadian Heritage. Jodi Simkin, the nation’s director of cultural affairs and heritage, said Klahoose earlier did a non-invasive scan of two of its cemeteries using satellite technology that revealed about 150 ancestors that were previously undetected. “So what that tells us is … there are not enough graves based on population estimates,” Simkin said. “We want to figure out where the ancestors are.” Simkin said before now, eight ancestors have come back via the University of British Columbia’s archeology lab, and the nation recently returned one more from the Museum of Vancouver. “We expect that there are still a lot of ancestors out there worldwide,” she said. The community has been initiating research trips to various institutions to try to figure out where the remains are being held. Simkin said she expects that ancestors will be located in the U.S. and Europe, because Spanish and British explorers were known to frequent the territories in and around the Klahoose nation. She is hopeful that the work will eventually allow the nation to compile family trees and fill in the missing pieces. “We’re not under any kind of illusion that we will see the ancestors return in the 12-month period of the grant, but we are certain that in that 12 month period that should we find an ancestor … that we’ll be able to initiate those repatriation discussions,” Simkin said. “Sometimes it happens really smooth and the institution is really excited to be allowing nations to reclaim their cultural heritage and sometimes less so.” Simkin said the nation plans to reach out to about 500 global institutions within the next year.
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Photo courtesy of Vision Vancouver
COAST SALISH LEADERS SEEK VANCOUVER MAYOR, COUNCIL SPOTS
Hereditary Squamish Chief Ian Campbell is running for mayor, while Wade Grant of Musqueam is seeking city council nomination in 2018 municipal election Two Coast Salish leaders are throwing their hats into municipal politics as the City of Vancouver is set to elect a new mayor and council later this year. Hereditary Squamish Chief Ian Campbell has been announced as Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate, while Wade Grant of Musqueam Nation is seeking the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) nomination for city council. If Campbell was elected, he would be the first Indigenous mayor of the 24 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
City of Vancouver, which lies on the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Campbell said during a campaign kickoff event that he wants to be a unifying force in the city, with one of his main priorities being creating affordable housing. “I don’t come from any political party, but I’ve spent my entire adult life working with people from across the political spectrum to mobilize progressive policies,” he said.
“It is my intention to become the first Indigenous mayor of Vancouver.” Meanwhile, former Musqueam councillor Wade Grant is seeking the NPA nomination to run for city council, with goals to amplify Indigenous voices and create change for marginalized communities. The City of Vancouver is set to elect a new mayor and 10 councillors on Oct. 20. More information about the election can be found at www.vancouver.ca.
TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF PM’S RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL APOLOGY MARKED WITH BOOK RELEASE “Speaking My Truth”: Reflections on Reconciliation & Residential Schools released at UBC On June 11, 2008, then-prime minister Stephen Harper gave an apology in the House of Commons for the governmentfunded residential school system and its lasting harmful legacy. On June 11 of this year, about two dozen people gathered at the University of British Columbia’s newly-opened Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre to mark the 10year anniversary of that pivotal event. The gathering also marked the launch of the third edition of a book of essays about the dark history of residential schools and concept of reconciliation. The book “Speaking My Truth”: The Journey to Reconciliation has already been used to educate tens of thousands of people across the country. Mike DeGagné, the president of Nipissing University and a book contributor, said when the book first came out, there were more than 50,000 requests for copies after Shelagh Rogers of CBC promoted the effort on her radio show The Next Chapter. “She said, ‘If anyone wants a copy of this book, it’s free,’” DeGagné said. “That’s the power of radio in this country, 50,000 books and three different reprints.” It was first released under the title “Speaking My Truth”: Reflections on Reconciliation & Residential Schools. The content has evolved over three iterations of the book. The newest version
contains essays by Richard Wagamese, Gregory Scofield, Chelsea Vowel and more. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafonde wrote an essay for a section of the book focusing on the rights of Indigenous children. She is also the new director for the UBC reconciliation dialogue centre. “We have to celebrate the progress we’ve made to bring these issues forward,” she said. “We really aren’t there yet, but speaking the truth is a really key piece. Speaking truth, building alliances,
respecting survivors, this is where we are now. We have a lot of work to do…I’m hoping in the next decade we really can make that transformation.” DeGagné said he hopes the books will continue to educate the public when they start appearing in public spaces. “We hope that hundreds of thousands of people will be able to access these (for free) in schools, universities, community centres, churches, wherever there’s a demand for them,” he said. “To start turning that truth into reconciliation.”
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafonde, the director of UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre, talks at the centre on June 11.
Musqueam Elder Larry Grant opens the event with a welcome.
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MOMENT IN HISTORY:
WHEN CHIEF DAN GEORGE VISITED T’SOU-KE “I remember the celebrity chief dancing with Grannie Agnes George, from the T’Sou-ke Band, and we all felt they were having a great time, cutting the rug together.” By Elida Peers, historian, Sooke Region Museum Back in 1971, the Sooke Community Association hosted the Academy Awardnominated actor, Chief Dan George, the celebrated Chief of Tsleil-Waututh, who had become a public figure. He is shown here with Eric Michelsen, president of the association at the time. The 1970s was a period when the Sooke Community Association was thriving and able to take a leading role in supporting and assisting community 26 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
endeavours. It was a time when All Sooke Day, and the mini-logging show convention entertainment evenings at the Sooke Community Hall were in their heyday, and brought in sufficient funds to operate the hall, the Flats and also to help the community. In that year, I was one of a dozen on the board of the association, and recall how thrilled we all were to be introduced to Chief George when he came to the entertainment and dance at the hall. The occasion was the convention of
the B.C. Association of Non-Status Indians, held in Victoria. On convention entertainment evenings, bus after bus would head off from Victoria to the Sooke hall in the late afternoons, where guests would watch the salmon being barbecued on the racks, feast on the barbecue, and watch the loggers’ sports show in the upstairs hall. After the chopping and power sawing was done and the sawdust cleaned up, the guests would dance to a lively local band. These loggers’ sports show events
The beauty of the trees The softness of the air, The fragrance of the grass, Speaks to me And my heart soars.
became quite famous and you could meet people travelling anywhere in the world that had come to the Sooke show. On this occasion, I remember the celebrity chief dancing with Grannie Agnes George, from the T’Sou-ke Band, and we all felt they were having a great time, cutting the rug together. Chief Dan George acted in theatres, in movies and television, and used his position to promote better understanding between the cultures. In 1971 as well, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Born in 1899, he passed away in 1981. Those who watched the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver may recall that a quotation from Chief Dan George’s poetry was part of the ceremony: “The beauty of the trees The softness of the air, The fragrance of the grass, Speaks to me And my heart soars.” This article originally appeared in the Sooke News Mirror and is reprinted here with permission and minor edits.
Chief Dan George's star on Granville Avenue, Vancouver. –Photo by By Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=11397070
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AROUND THE SALISH SEA
G WA I I E N G I N E E R I N G
Civil & Environmental • Feasibility
• Project Management (PMP)
• INAC Reporting & Applications
• Sustainable Communities • Water & Wastewater
• Contaminated Sites
By Edith Moore, NmTC communications liaison
HOMALCO TAKES STEPS
TO ADDRESS HOUSING
Strength Through Relationships www.gwaiieng.com • 250-886-0049
Homalco’s leadership is making strides in improving housing in their community. Recently, a Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council team was invited to work with Homalco administration to host a community meeting about housing. During the meeting, we looked at the nation’s current housing situation and started a discussion about what members would like housing to look like in the future. The community meeting was well-attended and included presentations, discussions and a question and answer portion. Members were able to talk about their concerns about housing in the community, and a group of Homalco children shared paintings they created depicting their creative visions for the future. A team from Naut’sa mawt shared information about the importance of developing a housing policy that everyone understands and trusts. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation consultant Neil Barrett also spoke about the opportunities that are available through CMHC for First Nations. There was an openness to the meeting, and a willingness to listen and share from everyone who was there. Housing has been a challenge for many First Nations, and these first steps Homalco has taken to focus on this is just the beginning.
There was an openness to the meeting, and a willingness to listen and share from everyone who was there.
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