Volume 16 Issue 4 August / September 2020
KUS-KUS-SUM K’ómoks estuary set to be restored PAGES 12 - 19
Digitizing Tla’amin teachings PAGES 20 - 25
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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
DISTRIBUTION Todd Peacey toddp@nautsamawt.com
DESIGN Kelly Landry - Director of Communications kellyl@nautsamawt.com
PUBLISHER Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council Gary Reith, Chief Administrative Officer 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 604-943-6712 or 1-888-382-7711
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3. KLAHOOSE Qathen Xwegus Management Corp (250) 935-6536 www.klahoose.com
7. SNAW-NAW-AS (NANOOSE) (250) 390-3661 chris.bob@nanoose.org www.nanoose.org
8. STZ’UMINUS (LADYSMITH) (250) 245-7155 Ray.Gauthier@coastsalishdevcorp.com www.stzuminus.com
9. TSAWWASSEN
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4. K'ÒMOKS
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6. TLA’AMIN
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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. Undeliverable mail may be returned to: 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 © 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.
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COVER: K’ómoks artist Andy Everson stands among ancient fish traps at the nation’s village site. Photo by David P. Ball.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 3
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: GOODBYE FOR NOW Dear Salish Sea Sentinel readers: After a wonderful three years of running this magazine, this will be my final issue as editor. As journalists, we are taught not to make ourselves part of the story — but in this case, I wanted to write to say thank you. Covering your communities has been an amazing experience and I’ve often felt the weight of what this storytelling work is — essentially recording living history. I actually started with the Sentinel in 2014 and have been writing for the magazine on and off since then, becoming the editor full time in 2017. The entire time, I have felt so welcomed in every nation I have visited, and I am very grateful for all the relationships that have been forged. I will miss the hustle of getting this magazine together each month, but have decided it’s time to further my education. I have been accepted into the University of British Columbia and will be going back to finish my degree. I hope to still do some reporting here every now and again. But, going forward, this magazine will be out of my hands. I am confident that this work will continue and that a lot of great things are on the horizon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this issue. And you can always reach me at caradawnmckenna@ gmail.com. With respect, Cara McKenna Editor
4 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Meeting now-Homalco Chief Darren Blaney during my first visit to the nation in 2014.SEA PhotoSENTINEL by Mark Kiemele. SALISH •5
FORMER TSAWWASSEN CHIEF NAMED NEW KPU CHANCELLOR Kim Baird (Kwuntiltunaat) will serve a three-year term as the ceremonial head of Kwantlen Polytechnic University A former Tsawwassen chief who led the nation to implement B.C.’s first urban treaty has been named the new chancellor of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Kim Baird (Kwuntiltunaat) will serve a threeyear term as KPU’s chancellor, starting on Oct. 5. According to KPU, the chancellor is the ceremonial head of the university. The chancellor presides over convocation events and serves as an ambassador in the community. Baird graduated from KPU in 1992 with an Arts Diploma and said her studies there helped motivated her to move into politics. While she was there, she studied her own community and learned about colonization, the land claims process and more. “I chose Kwantlen because of its smaller community-based campuses,” she said in a statement.
“Little did I know that this choice would lead me on an amazing career path, allowing me to make meaningful contributions to my community and Indigenous issues.” In 1999, Baird was elected chief of Tsawwassen First Nation, and at 28, was the youngest woman to hold that position.
She served six terms from 1999 to 2012 — and during that time negotiated and implemented B.C.’s first urban modern treaty, which came into effect on April 3, 2009. As chancellor, Baird said she hopes to contribute to KPU’s role in reconciliation. KPU president Alan Davis said he is honoured and excited that Baird will be the university’s third chancellor. “She is an accomplished leader, a great advocate for Indigenous people and their communities, and is widely recognized for her work,” he said. “Her achievements will inspire and support our students and graduates in many ways.” Baird will replace outgoing Chancellor George Melville, who has been at KPU for two terms. Her installation ceremony is expected to take place virtually during the week of Oct. 5.
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From right: Krista Perrault, Michelle Robinson, Tina Wesley. Submitted photo.
THREE SISTERS LEAD IN COVID-19 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT By Edith Moore, NmTC Communications Liaison Three Coast Salish sisters are leading the way in their communities in protecting against the spread of COVID-19. The women are all frontline workers in their communities of Klahoose and Stz’uminus — using forward-thinking planning to protect people against the virus. K’all-K’all Tina Wesley is the emergency manager for Klahoose First Nation, Al-Pa-sey Krista Perrault is the emergency manager for Stz’uminus, and Kwis-Tunle-Wut Michelle Robinson is on Klahoose council. These three strong women are raising the bar when it comes to protecting their communities, with strong traditional teachings that they lean on to guide them to this day. When asked to share, they spoke highly of their parents who taught them by example. “We all share and work with people to make things happen,” said Tina.
“We were raised to recycle, take only what you need from the land and not to waste anything. Every member of our family chipped in and worked together, as they equally supported each other.” Their mother is Siel-tin Aught Bertha Elliott from Stz’uminus, and their father is WeeWhoo-aja Walter Barnes from Klahoose. They lived on Galiano Island before moving to a ranch in Arizona, then settling down in Toba Inlet in Klahoose territory. With each move, the girls learned new skills — their parents showed them how to live off the land, teaching them hunting, fishing, gardening and farming. Their parents also volunteered to work with ministers while living in Arizona and helped to send food and clothes to people in need in Haiti. In Toba, their father and mother built their home from the ground up, and the family built
a boat together. The sisters watched how their parents handled life, honouring their gifts, being genuine at heart and leaning on their respect for the creator. Learning from their parents, they have always been driven by culture and traditions — because that was the way their parents were. Even when they had nothing they would give what they had. Caring and giving with all of their gifts is exactly what these three strong women are doing, as they work towards food security and extended protection measures for Klahoose, Stz’uminus and neighboring Nations. From managing guardians (protection points at the entry of nation lands), to taking on pig and chicken farming so that food sustainability is achieved. They will stop at nothing and give everything just as they were taught, and we are so blessed to have them leading the way. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 7
COVID-19 CAUTION Coast Salish artist lessLIE reflects on precaution and survival in the times of a pandemic
Coast Salish artist lessLIE
By lessLIE I began to practice precaution around COVID-19 when I first heard about cases of the virus apparently starting in Wuhan, China. This was in December of 2019. In January of 2020, it began to spread into Europe, and it was warned it could become a global pandemic. Upon hearing of this possibility, I immediately went to a dollar store and bought a bottle of hand sanitizer. I began to look at people with suspicion. Although it was improbable at the time, I imagined that a COVID-infected person could be walking among the customers at the dollar store, spreading the virus. I continued following the story as the pandemic began to spread into the United States, then into our neighboring Washington State. By February of 2020, I was already beginning to stock up on canned food, gardening supplies, a little bit of water (and, yes, even toilet paper). I have always believed in being prepared for a rainy day, and I have had more of a survivalist streak since becoming a father. When the World Health Organization declared 8 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
the global COVID-19 pandemic in March, I cried. I knew this would mean a large number of people would get sick, and many would die. I was worried that, if I didn’t take proper precautions, it could affect me, or my family members. In the past year, I had lost two parents and two grandparents and was already on edge.
“When the World Health Organization declared the global COVID-19 pandemic in March, I cried. I knew this would mean a large number of people would get sick, and many would die.” With the pandemic, I feared the uncertainty of it all, and that stress is amplified for those of us who have already experienced trauma and loss. It became hard not to assume the worst, and staying calm in the face of such a virus — especially given the history of smallpox
and other diseases in our communities — was difficult. But I had a dear five-year-old daughter to stay strong for. I have always considered myself to be a survivor. When B.C. declared a state of emergency and began to shut a lot of society down, I began a post-pandemic routine. Once my significant other Amanda temporarily stopped working at the local reserve daycare, and my daughter stopped going there, my family’s safety became my priority. I was aware that humankind had not seen a pandemic like this since the Spanish Flu over a century ago. I knew I needed to do things every day to stay healthy and to keep a sense of normalcy and control. My routine consisted of exercise every day, tending to the fruit and berry trees growing behind our house, changing my diet, meditating in nature while getting vitamin D, staying at home, and only going out for essential grocery shopping. I kept creating artwork to maintain my sanity, and watched survivalist videos on YouTube. We washed our hands, practiced social distancing, and we sanitized our groceries and anything else that came into our house. Upon getting
home from supply runs, we would shower and change our clothes. After a while, things were beginning to look optimistic for me and my family. We survived through three months of this pandemic with these routines. British Columbia began to flatten the curve, and we moved into Phase Three of our pandemic response. I felt we were seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Then, one evening, I began to have a headache. The following morning, on my daily jog, I felt a body ache go through my back. I felt pain and exhaustion through my body, which I knew was a COVID-19 symptom. But I went to sleep that night hoping I would sleep off whatever I was going through physically. Still, the following morning, I continued to have the same symptoms. Since my significant other works in a daycare and had gone back to work, the protocol was for us to notify the daycare and for me to arrange to be tested. I wanted to do what was best for my family and reserve community. So I began to selfisolate that evening. On that first evening of my quarantine, my significant other notified me via text message that the daycare was going to be shut down as a precaution. Upon hearing this, the reality of my situation began to hit me. I felt the weight of it coming down upon me. How was it that I, someone who has been so careful, was now finding myself in this situation? The evening before I began my self-isolation, my daughter and I spent some time in the
backyard together. She ate sunflower seeds and I sat in the yard with her. I got up and ate a cherry from a tree I had been caring for in our yard. She wanted one, but the only one I could find was decaying. As I sat in my room that evening in selfquarantine, I began to fear the worst. Although COVID-19 has a high recovery rate,
I felt a deep sadness at the parallel I was now experiencing — but grateful for the resiliency of my people. When my test results thankfully came back negative, I took a deep sigh of relief. I was grateful, but my feelings of uncertainty and stress remained. I wondered how it must feel for those who have received positive test
“Like anybody else, I don’t want to find myself dying alone in a hospital. As I waited, I thought about my ancestors, who were so strong despite all the suffering and death that surrounded them. I felt a deep sadness at the parallel I was now experiencing — but grateful for the resiliency of my people.” not everyone survives it. I started to worry that these would be my final memories with my dear daughter. I also began to fear that my final memories with my significant other Amanda would be ones about disagreeing about social distancing. I wondered how, after all my efforts, could I have possibly contracted the virus? I stayed home, only went out in essential grocery trips, washed my hands thoroughly often, practiced social distancing, and educated myself about the subject. Yet I always feared that COVID-19 could touch any one of us, even the most vigilant. Awaiting the test results was scary. Like anybody else, I don’t want to find myself dying alone in a hospital. As I waited, I thought about my ancestors, who were so strong despite all the suffering and death that surrounded them.
results. I thought about all the ways that life has changed since the global pandemic was declared and how much we have to lose. Not letting the panic and stress that can come with it overtake you is important — but at the same time, we must continue to take all possible precautions to protect ourselves, our families and our communities. Elders and people with compromised immune systems are particularly vulnerable, and they should be top of mind. For me, I will remain optimistic. I will laugh and hope for my future, and the future of my fiveyear-old daughter, my family, my community, and my people. lessLIE (Leslie Sam) is a Cowichan and Penelakut artist, writer and father. He resides at Snaw-naw-as First Nation with his family.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 9
A display of Indigenous objects at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver.
B.C. ALLOCATES $500K FOR INDIGENOUS REPATRIATION GRANTS New funding will be available to First Nations and related organizations for repatriation projects via the BC Museums Association
Jodi Simkin. File photo.
A range of new grants will soon be available to assist First Nations to repatriate ancestral remains and cultural objects. The provincial government has announced it is providing $500,000 to the BC Museums Association to support communities at different stages of the repatriation process. The funding will be open to First Nations and related organizations to plan, build and implement repatriation projects. Jodi Simkin, the president of BC Museums Association, said First Nations throughout B.C. are eager to have important objects and remains repatriated. Simkin also works with Klahoose First Nation as its director of culture and heritage. She took a leading role in Klahoose’s worldwide repatriation project “ʔi:mot tətᶿ kʷənome (it’s good to see you): The Journey Home,” which was first launched in the spring of 2018. “This funding demonstrates a commitment to helping achieve this important and essential step in the reconciliation process,” Simkin said in a statement. The new grants are part of $2-million in total funding from the province to the Royal BC Museum over three years for repatriation activities. “The activities included a provincewide repatriation symposium, a granting program, digital repatriation programs, community work and the creation of Canada’s first repatriation handbook for Indigenous peoples by Indigenous peoples,” a statement from the province said. Over the years, many important cultural objects and remains have been taken from Indigenous communities and are now in museum or private collections around the world. In many cases, the onus is on the communities to track down these items and try to get them back. Royal BC Museum CEO Jack Lohman said it’s important for the museum to build its credibility with Indigenous communities by continuing to assist in these ventures. “I am delighted we can continue to act as a catalyst for the return of ancestors, treasures and belongings and help address the legacy of unresolved grief in Indigenous communities across B.C.,” he said in a statement. Applications for the grants are expected to open online on Sept. 8 at http://museumsassn. bc.ca/repatriation-grants. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 11
The Kus-kus-sum estuary and former sawmill site in Courtenay, B.C.
KUS-KUS-SUM: K’ÓMOKS ESTUARY SET TO BE RESTORED AFTER DECADES OF INDUSTRIAL DAMAGE
K’ómoks member Andy Everson stands among ancient fish traps at low tide.
The Estuary was ravaged by the forestry industry — now, as a fundraising campaign reaches a pivotal moment, the nation is expected to soon regain stewardship of the site By Cara McKenna and David P. Ball Beside the Courtenay River in K’ómoks territory, an abandoned sawmill site interrupts what would otherwise be a picturesque waterside scene. A chainlink fence marks the entrance to the 8.3-acre weed-strewn concrete lot — littered with trash, a derelict office building, and marked up with graffiti. The concrete is buttressed by a corrugated metal wall along the river bank, which has become an obstacle that has decimated local salmon populations. The sawmill that once operated here started up in the 1940s, and changed ownership several times until its final owner, forestry giant Interfor, shuttered it in 2006. Now, a partnership between the City of Courtenay, K’ómoks First Nation and the environmental non-profit Project Watershed 14 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
means that the site could soon be restored to its former glory as an estuary. The three parties have been raising funds to buy the property back from Interfor in order to “unpave paradise” and eventually transfer full ownership to K’ómoks.
For the nation, the area where the estuary sits is at the heart of their territory and history — known as Kus-kus-sum. Not far downriver from the former industrial
site, Andy Everson, a K’ómoks artist who lives near the waterfront, walks to the estuary edge in the morning. At low tide, he navigates a maze of wooden stakes emerging from the tidal mud. They’re ancient fish traps, once wrapped in wooden latticing — the oldest estimated by archaeologists to be up to 1,300 years old, he said. “It shows how strongly connected we are to this place,” Everson said. “Our people are literally rooted to the ground in this estuary.” Growing up, Everson recalls staying at his grandmother’s house — which he now lives beside — and going across the road to the beach to play. “As a teenager I’d go there every day,” he said. “It’s a real sense of place and home, when I look out across the home and see the beach
and the mountains, it’s where I belong.” Wedlidi Speck, who is Kwakwakaʼwakw and K’ómoks, said the estuary itself is being called Kus-kus-sum, but that name actually refers to the surrounding area. Traditionally, Kus-kus-sum was used not only as a fishery but as a traditional burial site. “My sense of it knowing Kus-kus-sum … it has to do with the relationship the ancestors had with salmon and how they prepared salmon on the beach,” Speck said. “How they rendered parts of the salmon, over a period of time, when salmon is decaying it turns to oil.” Everson said utilizing the traditional name is important because it means honouring the long Indigenous presence on the land. “I hear complaints from settlers: ‘How can they change this name?’ Yes, how could they have changed the name?” he said. “For us, it’s really symbolic to show — you can look at our people’s history through our fish traps or our middens — but these place names
are also markers of our territory.” Courtenay Coun. Doug Hillian said if and when the site is bought back from Interfor, the initial ownership will be joint between the city and K’ómoks nation. “The plan is, over time, K’ómoks will become
strengthen their culture, their economic base, their governance,” Hillian said. “To take their full position as not only participants in this life that we have together but as leaders. They have a rich tradition we can all learn and benefit from.”
“For us, it’s really symbolic to show — you can look at our people’s history through our fish traps or our middens — but these place names are also markers of our territory.” the full owners,” Hillian said. The city is getting involved, he said, because municipalities are specifically eligible for various grants that could help pay restoration costs, and it has more capacity to provide maintenance and upkeep. The city and nation are currently working on a Memorandum of Understanding that will outline how the site will be managed once ownership is transferred. “We support our First Nations partners to
Hillian first moved to Courtenay in 1979. He recalls the sawmill as being a significant employer in the community. But its benefits came with massive environmental damage. Aside from industrial pollution and debris from logging industry activity on the river, mill site operators erected a 440-metre corrugated rusty metal wall along the river banks. “The construction of the wall along the edge of the mill just became a dreadful obstacle for the fish,” Hillian explained.
WHAT IS AN ESTUARY? An estuary is found at the mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, in which freshwater mixes with saltwater and creates a unique, plentiful ecosystem for numerous species. As University of Victoria fisheries biologist Dr. Francis Juanes explained, many salmon and other species depend on the plentiful nutrients and protection from predators that estuaries can offer. “Every species uses an estuary differently,” he said. “For some fish, it can be a staging area. Other species are in a hurry to get to the ocean and just go right through it; but others spend time in the estuary and feed and grow there. “But of course they all have to move through the estuary to get to saltwater; it’s such an important habitat for all of them at some point in their life.” Juanes cited research into several estuaries in B.C. but also down in Washington State, as examples of the damage industrial development can have on some wildlife populations such as salmon. He said recent decades’ increase in seal populations, and climate change, are also among factors likely reducing salmon numbers, but more study is needed of exactly how many salmon that seals actually eat. “Yes, estuaries are a very productive area for food,” he said. “But of course if there’s a lot of food there will be a lot of predators — including mammals like seals. “There are more seals now, and although it’s very hard to collect evidence on how much salmon seals eat, it’s likely they do eat a fair amount.” In any case, Juanes said that even though most of a salmon’s growth happens once they hit the ocean, it’s increasingly clear to scientists that estuaries hold a key to the health of B.C.’s wild stocks. “It’s clear that what happens in the freshwater and estuaries is incredibly important in determining how well salmon do once they hit saltwater,” he said.
“They actually call it ‘the Killing Wall.’” The name was given to the wall because of how seals effectively utilize it to prey on salmon. As the salmon pass, they have nowhere to hide as female seals line their babies up along the wall, then chase the fish directly into the young seals’ mouths. When the concrete is torn down and wall removed, the estuary and fish habitat can be restored — which will help the salmon to again start to thrive in the Courtenay River. K’ómoks Chief Nicole Rempel said the project holds great importance for the nation, its territory and wider community relationships. “Kus-kus-sum holds important cultural significance for our nation, and we look forward to its return,” she said in an earlier statement. The estuary also holds immense ecological significance, as the meeting — and mixing — point between saltwater from the ocean and freshwater from the mountains. Salmon and other fish depend on this unique and vibrant habitat at key stages of their lives, explained University of Victoria fisheries biologist Dr. Francis Juanes. “Because of the exchange of salt- and freshwater and nutrients, there’s a lot of food to be had there,” he said. Additionally, many salmon depend on the often-murky estuary waters to hide from predators such as seals and larger fish, whether those salmon are ones that merely pass through on their way to spawn, or a few species that spend their entire lives there. Juanes said the growing number of such efforts to restore and reclaim estuary lands from development are a sign of changing times. “I think we’re more aware of the importance of estuaries today,” he said. “Restorating habitats to their natural state — as long as it’s done well and in an ecologically relevant way — I think is always a good thing.” The plan to restore Kus-kus-sum, according to Project Watershed, would start by removing concrete and contaminated soil from the sawmill site. The organization’s biologists would then create an “engineered wetland” of ponds and water channels to the nearby marsh. Finally, they’d build a sloped riverbank, plant it with Indigenous wetland plants, shrubs and trees — and ultimately tear out the steel wall allowing wetland to finally meet river again. Estuary biologist Dr. Colin Levings, a retired Department of Fisheries and Oceans scientist, remembers visiting the Courtenay sawmill site — and said he strongly believes restoring it as a thriving habitat for salmon and other species is both possible, and worthwhile. “Wherever people want to bring something to the ocean for trade or industry, in many cases the estuaries are where that happened,” explained the author of the authoritative Ecology of Salmonids in Estuaries Around the World: Adaptations, SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 17
Habitats and Conservation. “There’s quite a body of evidence showing they can be restored quite effectively, with attention to the science of each particular estuary and species.” He cited several “very thorough” scientific studies of the Courtenay River estuary itself, particularly as a salmon habitat — as well as similar research across the B.C. coast that suggests there’s reason for optimism. “There’s a good chance for success in my view,” the University of B.C. adjunct professor said of the Kus-kus-kum project. “Studies have shown that, as soon as the dyke, road, or steel sheeting is breached, the salmon will actually start to come in over the next couple of tides even.” Juanes agreed — saying that even in places where fish populations have been decimated, it’s possible to bring them back. “Generally, if you provide good habitat, fish will come,” he said. “Sometimes the new systems don’t have the plants they used to have, or the water is much clearer than it used to be which doesn’t protect fish as well from predators, but these systems can be restored.” Caila Holbrook, Project Watershed’s manager of fundraising, outreach and mapping, said fundraising to restore Kus-kussum began in 2017. So far, more than $2.7 million has been raised and Project Watershed expects the property will be officially bought back from Interfor with a final $1 million payment later this year. Then the restoration work can begin, which will require millions more. The total cost to purchase and restore the site is estimated at $6.5 million. Holbrook said Interfor has worked with them in a good way — allowing the community ample time to raise funds for payments. Community members have worked with the three partners to raise money and there has also been some government assistance — the province awarded the project a $1 million grant last year. “We’ve had over 2,000 people from the community donate money, time and resources,” Holbrook said. “As soon as we purchase it and own the property … it should take about four years (to restore).” The original plan was to make the final payment to Interfor in July, but COVID-19 has caused delays. When the final payment is made, a cultural event will take place at K’ómoks around the same time, highlighting the significance of, and relationship to, Kus-kus-sum. “It’s been a longtime coming but it’s very exciting and we just have a little ways left to go,” Holbrook said. Reporting for this article was made possible thanks to a grant from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources (www. injr.org). 18 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
ESTUARY TIMELINE Circa 1,300 years ago and onwards: Estuary used to fish by local Indigenous people using traditional methods such as weirs. Late 1940s: Site cleared of trees to make way for Field Sawmill. 1949: Field Sawmill moves from former site to new Courtenay River location. 1969: Field family retires mill. 1970s: New mill owners use marsh area as landfill for oil cans, wood chips, wire and other trash. B.C. NDP government buys 25.5 acres to prevent destruction of adjacent Hollyhock Marsh. 1973: Mill sold again to Gregory Manufacturing, then to Primex Forest Products. 2000: Primex faces economic problems and lays off employees. 200: Interfor buys out Primex and acquires sawmill. 2003: Mill operates at a loss of $8 million. 2006: Sawmill closes. 2008: Sawmill is put up for sale. 2017: Fundraising begins by Project Watershed to buy sawmill site and restore estuary. 2019: B.C. NDP government grants $1 million to project. Late 2020: Final payment made to Interfor to acquire land. 2020 - 2024: Restoration work: Remove concrete, restore ecology of site, remove wall. With files from Project Watershed.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 19
Authors Paige Raibmon, Davis McKenzie, Harmony Johnson, Elsie Paul. Submitted photo
A TLA’AMIN ELDER’S BEAUTIFUL DIGITAL GIFT TO FUTURE GENERATIONS How knowledge keeper Elsie Paul and a RavenSpace team pushed the edges of interactive storytelling By Andrea Smith This article originally appeared in the Tyee and is reprinted here with permission and minor edits.
to be produced by RavenSpace, a new online publishing platform with ties to the University of British Columbia.
A Tla’amin elder has created a beautiful record of herself and her teachings. She has helped make media history as well by participating in crafting a digital medium that is circular and guided by the visitor’s curiosity — a good match for Indigenous storytelling. The result is a gift of learning to future generations. The project, which is free to visit, took more than four years to complete. It is the first title
“the goal is to keep the knowledge as a record for Tla’amin people to continually draw upon.”
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At the centre of As I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder, is Elsie Paul (qɑʔɑχstɑles), a speaker
of her people’s mother tongue and a keeper of their knowledge rooted in the thousands of years they’ve lived along what is now called B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. She previously shared her story in a 2015 UBC Press book of a similar name: Written As I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder. But this multimedia presentation comes to life in a way that wasn’t possible in print. The project has four authors, Elsie Paul, Harmony Johnson, Davis McKenzie and Paige Raibmon. The latter three, in 2016, began talking to Paul about a digital project, listening to her stories and figuring out how best to
transfer them into the essays, videos, audio clips and animation features they posted online. There are maps and instructional materials, as well. The website is designed so that readers aren’t given a specific starting or stopping point. They can jump around and learn something new each time they open it. On the screen are tabs for four chapters: Territory, Colonialism, Community and Wellness. Under each are multiple write-ups and media entries. One of the hardest decisions, according to McKenzie, was figuring out where it was appropriate to cut Paul’s words and where it wasn’t. Some of the material is considered sacred and some is important to Paul personally, so chopping that apart just wouldn’t be okay. Under the Territory tab, for example, the reader finds “Where I Come From.” “And it’s a very long blog,” said McKenzie. “But Chi-chia actually gave the story in one sitting, in one breath. I think Paige and Harmony sat down and asked her ‘Where are you from?’ and she spoke for 45 minutes. It’s a very long story, but it was really important to keep it all together because it covers a lot of different aspects.” Chi-chia is the Tla’amin word for grandmother. Both Johnson and McKenzie are Elsie Paul’s grandchildren. Johnson has served in policy and executive roles for B.C. First Nations. McKenzie is a professional communicator. Raibmon is a history professor at UBC. “It’s your job to look after yourself,” Paul says right from the start of the book. “To be well from inside and to teach that to your children, to teach that to your family, to set that example.” There is a video attached offering the chance to see and hear her speak these words. “It’s very important, our tɑʔɑw. ‘Tɑʔɑw’ means ‘the teaching.’ That we all carry the teaching, what we learned from our ancestors, the traditional teaching, the traditional values. ‘Ɂəms tɑɁɑw’ — ‘our teaching,’ that’s what that means,” says Paul. One of the key issues that came to light while making the book, according to the authors, was property ownership, particularly in Tla’amin tradition.
Elsie Paul. Submitted photo.
Elsie Paul. Submitted photo.
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Raibmon points to the distinction “between research on Indigenous people and research with Indigenous people. And research on Indigenous people is out.” In the academic world, in the past, she explained, when a colonial scholar went to Indigenous communities to study them, the researcher often thought they owned the information they had collected. That view is changing, but slowly. To remedy the information ownership problem in the online world, the authors used “canoe protocol,” explained McKenzie. Knowledge keepers in the Tla’amin community helped them come up with the idea, which has been
“Once a guest is invited to come ashore, they are fed and well treated, their obligations are explained to them, and for the duration of their visit they abide by ɬaʔamɩn laws. In this case, we remind you that the stories, photos, videos and language shared on this site are not simply content or information. Rather, they are our belongings, the intellectual property of either myself or the ɬaʔamɩn people. As our guest, we welcome you to take a moment to identify your intentions and to confirm your understanding and willingness to abide by ɬaʔamɩn protocol.” The reader of Paul’s story then has the opportunity to click either, “Come Ashore — I Agree” or “Take Me Back to Cyberspace — I
“It’s important to know about Indigenous peoples’ history, but just as important, or maybe even more important, is really understanding Tla’amin ideas about knowledge... what it’s for, who it’s for, who it belongs to and how to treat it respectfully.” the way for Tla’amin people for centuries and could be applied, they believed, online, too. And so here is the message that greets the newly arrived reader: “Welcome, guests, to As I Remember It, a digital presentation of my life and the teachings of my grandparents and people. My name is Elsie Paul. My ancestral name is qɑʔɑχstɑles. ʔíːmòt tᶿ qʷɑ́ yɩgən tᶿ kʼʷʋ́ nɑnɑpɛ. ʔíːmòt θ qʷʋ́ lʼ kʼʷʋ́ θ níniǰi tᶿ púkʷ. I’m very happy to see you all. It’s good that you come to see me about my book. “This site is ɬaʔamɩn territory: it operates according to ɬaʔamɩn protocol. In other words, the regular rules of the internet do not apply here. ʔəms tɑʔɑw (our teachings) are very precious, and to protect them we invoke ɬaʔamɩn guest-host protocol to govern this site and its visitors. “What do we mean by guest-host protocol? As ɬaʔamɩn, as coastal people, we travel by boat. When we visit another place, we identify ourselves, describe our relationship to the host, make clear our intentions, and ask to come ashore. When we serve as hosts, our role is to protect the community and territory, and to nurture and affirm our collective identity as qɑyəwmɩxʷ (human beings) through respectful conduct. 22 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Disagree” depending on their willingness to abide by Tla’amin law. “We want to try and shift people’s relationships to knowledge about Indigenous people,” explained Raibmon. “It’s important to know about Indigenous peoples’ history, but just as important, or maybe even more important, is really understanding Tla’amin ideas about knowledge... what it’s for, who it’s for, who it belongs to and how to treat it respectfully.” McKenzie emphasized that the goal is to keep the knowledge as a record for Tla’amin people to continually draw upon. “As the Māori scholar and educator Linda Tuhiwai Smith writes, ‘Indigenous research’ — of the sort this book aspires to embody — ‘seeks to recover a peoples’ path to well-being, to find the new/old solutions that restore Indigenous being in the world. The impacts are part of an intergenerational long game of decolonization, societal transformation, healing and reconciliation, and the recovery of a world where all is well,’” notes McKenzie in his Digital Remediation essay in the Our Process section. Once inside, the reader will find stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. Elsie’s life has not been easy, but she maintains her humour and grace despite it all.
An example of tragedy she has endured is the story of young Elsie’s dog Patsy, found in the Colonialism chapter. The RCMP sometimes rounded up the Tla’amin peoples’ dogs and shot them. One day, Paul was made to tie her dog to the post for the RCMP to carry this out. “And so the police wouldn’t chase the dogs all over, we all had to have our dogs tied to a post down towards the beach. And the police would come and just shoot them off, pick them off — shoot them. Oh, I was so upset about my Patsy. I loved that dog! And I don’t know who took care of the remains. Probably the parents or the grandparents took care of the remains,” read her words on the page. “Yeah, it’s a wonder I’m still sane, if I am — I don’t know,” she says at the end, punctuating the grief with a little humour. Some of the other heavy subjects Paul talks about are the treatment of First Nations people on the steamship she sometimes rode with her fisherman grandfather (always being forced to ride with the baggage on the lower level); residential school, which she did attend for a few years; and the treatment of Tla’amin people by police (which, you can imagine, was very disrespectful). Of course there is beauty as well. Paul has a lot of fond memories about her childhood and traditional activities like berry picking, clam digging, root digging, fishing, community dances. The sources of her knowledge are rich and varied. She tells about the strength (physical and mental) of the elders she grew up around, their teachings about healthy pregnancy and caring for babies, her grandmother’s handmade dolls, the work she did as a social worker in her territory for 24 years. Some of Elsie Paul’s stories are illustrated not with photos and videos, but animations. McKenzie, who helped design the digital book, said there were two reasons animations were sometimes used to illustrate Elsie’s points. “Animations are for things we didn’t have photos for, or wouldn’t be appropriate to have photos,” he said. “Twins are Gifted,” “He Got His Spirit Back” and “The Last Walk” are stories told with animations. The first two didn’t have photos that could be used (because the stories come
Still from He Got His Spirit Back animation
Still from The Police Were Standing By the Bed animation SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 23
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Various Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw and Nuu-chah-nulth cultural objects on display at the Museum of Anthropology.
24 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
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Tla’amin Nation & Powell River District educators participate in community review process for As I Remember It, December 2017, photo by Amber Ridington
from a time before photography existed), and the last is a funeral ceremony that has strict protocol around it, so using photos would be an act of disrespect, he said. According to Raibmon, the concept of putting a book online in interactive form represents a new area of the academic arts. The “digital humanities” are “exploding within the university,” she said. The material for the book was peer reviewed by scholars, like other academic works, but Paul had her own priorities, said grandson McKenzie. “There’s this whole concept of objective peer review, and that was not acceptable by Chichia’s standards. She said, ‘We’re not doing that.... You can do that, too, but who you need to run the book by is our up-and-coming people who are learning the language and going to be passing on the culture.’” And that’s what they did. Paul named a number of young Tla’amin people from the community, who then gathered together and gave the authors feedback on what they’d like to see in the book, and what was important to them. And they even helped the authors identify ancestors in photos that the authors couldn’t, said McKenzie. The book really has something for everyone
because it’s so well-rounded, said Johnson. “I think everyone will get something from it. You know, if you’re a teacher, there’s the Kindergarten to Grade 12 resources. For kids, there’s the animations, which I thought were really great. I like that on the site you can listen to recordings. And I really like that we have done the traditional knowledge labels across the site, as well as the opening protocols where people have to agree in terms of the intention we had for the material.”
“Who you need to run the book by is our up-and-coming people who are learning the language and going to be passing on the culture.’” Paul declined to be interviewed for this article, simply because she felt she had already said enough. That’s hard to argue with given how filled the book is with her knowledge. And the wisdom of an elder is something to be respected, too. Knowing when to start talking and when to stop is a teaching a lot of us could use. A parting thought from Paul, though. At one point in As I Remember It she brings her story
right up to date, speaking about her own feelings in a way that might teach others to reach deep and avoid negativity in difficult times: “You know, myself, even though I remember all those teachings, sometimes I start to backslide and I start to feel sorry for myself and, ‘Oh, I’m getting old, I’m getting so old. You just can’t do this anymore. I can’t do that anymore.’ And that kind of gets you down. Kinda eats away at you. And if you allow it — if I allow that — I’m gonna sit here on my pity pot and, ‘Nobody ever comes to visit me and nobody ever does this for me and nobody ever’ — and I tell myself, ‘Smarten up!’” As for RavenSpace, more projects are on the way from the digital publisher, which was founded at UBC Press with grant support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Up next is Ḵa̱n’s hiłile (Making it Right): A Collaborative Reframing of Kwakiutl Film and Audio Recordings with Franz Boas, 1930. Explore As I Remember It: Teachings (Ɂəms tɑɁɑw) from the Life of a Sliammon Elder at http://publications.ravenspacepublishing.org/ as-i-remember-it. Andrea Smith is a Cree-Métis writer from central Alberta, now residing in Burnaby, BC. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 25
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TLA’AMIN HEALING WALK HELD IN MEMORY OF CHANTEL MOORE
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 27
Event in Powell River was one of several held to honour the Tla-o-quiaht woman who was shot by police during a wellness check Photos by Alex Sutcliffe A healing walk was held in Tla’amin territory to honour the memory of a Tla-o-qui-aht woman who was killed by police. Chantel Moore, 26, was shot by an officer during a wellness check at her home in Edmundston, N.B., in early June. After the incident, many vigils across the country were held in her memory and as a way to heal and to support Moore’s family and community. Tla’amin was one of several communities to host a healing walk or circle for Moore and other missing and murdered Indigenous women on June 13. The walk began at the Powell River ferry terminal and concluded at Willingdon Beach. Cyndi Pallen (Chennay’), a member of Tla’amin and one of the event’s organizers, said the walk was organized following protocol from the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in New Brunswick. “We hold strong to our teachings of our parents, grandparents and ancestors,” Pallen said in a written statement. “A sacred Cedar Bough Ceremony took place, where the cedar was carried to the river. The water and cedar represented our support, healing and prayers.” Pallen said she wanted to acknowledge everyone who supported and participated in the healing walk. In particular, she noted Michelle Moir who carried the sacred water with cedar boughs. She also thanked the drummers and singers from Tla’amin and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and those who documented the ceremony — Alex Sutcliffe, Phil Russell and Jeremy Williams. “especially Michelle Moir who carried the sacred water with cedar boughs, which was brought to the stream and prayers carried out to support Chantal’s family we also acknowledge our drummers and singer of Squamish and Tla’amin and Alex, Phil and Jeremy for documenting this ceremony. During the event, all guests were encouraged to wear masks, sanitize their hands and practice social distancing to protect against the spread of COVID-19. 28 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
INDIGENOUS ARTIST TIMOTHY FOSTER WINS ORANGE SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST
Photo: shíshálh
SHÍSHÁLH RECEIVES FLOOD OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT AFTER RACIST VANDALISM Artist’s Statement: My name is Timothy Foster and am Gitxsan from the house of Niisto in the Lax Seel clan. I am honoured to have my design chosen for this orange shirt contest provided by Indigenous Printing and Office Solutions. This chosen design was actually a memorial piece I created not long ago in remembrance of my late wife and son who I lost in a span of 6 years. I thought it would be fitting to enter the design into the contest as my late wife and I both understood the importance of the orange shirt day and what it meant and how hard and difficult it is to change and rid our future generation of the vicious cycles residential schools created in our families. She also always had a dream of opening a food bank in our community to help others in hardship and having this design represent such an important cause I believe is very fitting as it will help bring awareness to every child matters, which she a had a deep and loving passion for, not only our children but for all families and their children as well. Thank you and please stay safe.
INDIGENOUSPRINTING.CA
shíshálh Nation leaders are speaking out about racist vandalism left in their territory. Members of chief and council say they are saddened but not surprised at the hateful messages left in the Sunshine Coast community. However they are also grateful for an outpouring of community support that was received shortly after word started circulating about the anti-Indigenous messages. On July 7, the nation discovered a threatening banner that was hung between two totem poles at a local school. On the banner, it read: “IF U TOUCH George/Stanley/John A UR Totem’s will start Falling.” The message seems to refer to Captain George Vancouver, Lord Stanley and John A. Macdonald and other colonial leaders whose statues have been targeted in other cities as a response to the Black Lives Matter movement. The same day, it was discovered that someone had painted the word “conquered” on a highway sign containing the shíshálh language. Police are investigating both incidents. Hiwus (Chief) Warren Paull said members of the nation are saddened and upset — but not surprised — by the recent acts of anti-Indigenous racism. “Racism exists here on the Sunshine Coast, as it does elsewhere,” Paull said in a statement. “And as always, racism will be confronted for what it is — as an expression of ignorance and hate that must be completely rejected in all forms.” shíshálh Coun. Selina August said while the news was hurtful, the nation was supported by many residents in the area and others across B.C. “This is the most heartening thing,” she said. “We are also met with the love, support, and generosity of British Columbians from all walks of life who wish to see true reconciliation.”