Volume 13 . Issue 9
November 2017
LUMMI TOTEM JOURNEY
PAGES 14-15
CARVING OUT A LIFE
SNUNEYMUXW ARTIST RICHARD THOMAS PAGES 11-13
NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL NATIONS
Naut’sa mawt - Working together as one
EDITORIAL TEAM Cara McKenna – Editor editor@salishseasentinel.ca 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
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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. © 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: People pray on Lummi carver Jewell James's latest totem pole in downtown Vancouver on Oct. 13. The pole was on a journey across part of the continent to raise awareness about fossil fuels. –Photo by Cara McKenna.
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 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
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
2017 MALAHAT GOLF&GALA Community raises more than $247,000 for new multipurpose centre during annual event
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Photos by Barclay Martin
Malahat Nation will soon have a new multipurpose centre after another successful fundraising gala on Sept. 29. The community raised more than $247,000 through the event and hosted 240 guests, according to organizers. The event was held at Bear Mountain Resort and consisted of a day of golf before attendees moved inside for dinner, performances, speeches and a silent auction. Malahat is now preparing the site for its new centre that will include daycare, a recreation facility and a new health unit. An official ground-breaking for the lot is set to happen this fall. In previous years, the gala has raised funds for the nation’s Kwanu Kwasun Cultural Centre and social programs.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 3
Chief Caroline Harry and Councillor Vince Harry welcome guests to the gala.
A woman browses the silent auction.
A piece from the auction, the Hamat’sa Dancers plaque by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Sarah Robertson, is shown off.
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Above: Indian City, an award-winning folk pop band from Winnipeg, performs. Below: Vince Fontaine, the driving force behind Indian City.
Above: April Miller, Penelakut member and owner of Versatile Technologies of Chemainus. Below: Snuneymuxw Chief John Wesley eyes up his next shot.
Malahat Councillor Matthew Harry lines up a for long putt.
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SLHEXUN’S TTHU XPEY’: KWU’MUT LELUM YOUTH CARVING CEDAR CANOE The canoe is set to be completed before next year’s Tribal Journeys Photos courtesy of Kwu’mut Lelum Indigenous youth in care are spending the next year transforming a cedar log into a traditional canoe under the guidance of Stz’uminus artist Luke Marston (Ts’uts’umutl). Kwu’mut Lelum Child and Family Services launched a new youth leadership development project called “Slhexun’s tthu Xpey’” (Medicine of the Cedar) in late August, when the canoe was blessed in a ceremony at Stz’uminus. The youth have been working with Marston and elders to create the canoe, which is set to be completed for next year’s Tribal Journeys. Bill Yoachim, Kwu’mut Lelum’s executive director, said the youth will be connected with teachings through the start of making the canoe until the end of Tribal Journeys. Marston reminded the group at the cedar blessing that carving the tree will be sacred medicine. “The tree when it falls doesn’t die – it has a living soul,” Marston said. “You must treat it kindly. You don’t just hit it with tools. These are the teachings I learned from my elders.” Josephine Underhay, 20, was a child in care under Kwu’mut Lelum and said that Tribal Journeys is important because it’s often the first time children and youth in care are able to connect with their culture. “For many of these children, this is the first time they are able to feel pride in who they are and where they come from,” she said in a statement. “Tribal reminded me that my culture is beautiful and strong and one of the things that got me this far in life”. Kwu’mut Lelum’s nine member nations are Snuneymuxw, Qualicum, Snaw-naw-as, Malahat, Stz’uminus, Halalt, Penelakut, Lake Cowichan and Lyackson. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 7
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SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 9
AROUND THE SALISH SEA
MEETING IN KLAHOOSE By Edith Moore, NmTC Communications Liason Our Board of Directors meet every couple of months and are dedicated to making sure that the staff of the Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council are on target. On September 21,, the Klahoose Nation hosted the Board of Directors meeting, and I was privileged to have attended. As you can see in the picture, Klahoose has an amazing administration building right off the waters of Squirrel Cove. We were welcomed with the most amazing lunch of salmon and prawns. It takes an immense amount of dedication to be a Board of Director and so this was a nice perk for them to have such a warm welcome. Thank you to the Klahoose Nation for going above and beyond for our team and directors. It is inspirational as a staff member to be able to sit in these meetings. Listening to each Director’s vision truly brings everything we are doing to build capacity into focus. This meeting took a lot to organize as it required an overnight in Campbell River and then two ferry rides, first one to Quadra and then from Quadra to Cortez Island. In my opinion this showed how committed each and every one of the Directors are to our organization. Thank you again NmTC Board for all that you do for all of us. Truly thankful.
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CARVING OUT A LIFE
RICHARD “TOMAHAWK” THOMAS ON HIS UNIQUE STYLE
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THE SELF-TAUGHT SNUNEYMUXW CARVER HAS USED ARTWORK AS A FORM OF HEALING By Cara McKenna While many artists learn traditional styles through years of mentorship, Snuneymuxw carver Richard Thomas never really had teachers. His artwork is largely personal rather than traditional, and his striking pieces are informed by his life experiences and finding beauty during hard times. He taught himself his own style as a way of coping after residential school. Thomas ran away from the facility when he was 17 years old after being abused and soon after ended up in the prison system for petty theft – something he did to survive. If there was rehabilitation during his experience in jail, he says, he taught it to himself by painting on his cell walls. He was in and out of the system for several years, but when he was released for a final time, Thomas began carving. He sold his pieces to make a living and travel across the country. His art and identity are largely intertwined. “Carving helped me find my path in life. It is who I am, and I love my life because of it,” he says. Decades later, Thomas continues to make a living through his carvings, and has sold pieces worldwide. He now lives in Comox with his family. Thomas’s work was recently featured at the Identity: Art as Life exhibition at Vancouver Island University’s View Gallery through a partnership with TimberWest. The Sentinel caught up with Thomas at the exhibition’s opening. Editor's note: the Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. 12 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Sentinel: When did you first become interested in art? Was it when you were growing up in Snuneymuxw, or after that? Thomas: I guess I must have been always interested in it to be able to, with no training and nobody to teach me, to do it all on my own. I had one teacher, he showed me quite a bit, but that was only for about eight months. Everything else I just learned on my own. Sentinel: Do you follow traditional Coast Salish styles at all? Thomas: No, it’s more of Kwakiutl style. That’s what I learned. In a way I’m self-taught so my style isn’t like other carvers. I kind of created my own style, and the two colours red and black are the only colours I use. Sentinel: Do you carve with electric tools at all, or is it all by hand? Thomas: All by hand. I only have one knife to do all this carving. Just one knife. One knife for shaping it, and one knife to do all the carving. It’s pretty amazing what you can do with just one tool.
Sentinel: Could you talk a bit about when you first started creating art and how it came to evolve from painting to carving? Thomas: When I switched over from painting, because I learned painting when I was incarcerated, I was home with dad and there wasn’t much to do, so I picked up a piece of wood and started carving. That was January of 1976. I continued on my own for about a year and really didn’t learn that much until I met Maury Clark, and he’s the one who really showed me how to use a knife properly. That’s the trick about carving is how to use a knife. It’s been pretty interesting, going from being incarcerated. In my cell I used to draw great big murals and every week the guards would come along and paint over them, and the next week I’d be up painting a different mural. That went on and on for the whole time I was there. Sentinel: Did they give you paints to use? Thomas: They had an arts and crafts shop there so there were some water-
colour paints. They let me do that to amuse myself and keep me out of trouble. It was in 1976 that I picked up a knife and started carving. I lived in Ontario for 15 years learning. The time I was out there, I was just learning on my own. Looking at pictures and seeing how pictures were done. I’d take a concept and go from there, and do it how I thought it was done.
really taking it seriously and I’ve carved out a life just by learning on my own.
Sentinel: So art has been a form of rehabilitation and relief for you. Thomas: Yes, relief, because there’s nothing to do in (jail). It’s pacing the hallway or whatever. I used to spend a lot of time in my cell just doing Native art. I had never done it before so it was new to me but it intrigued me at the same time.
Sentinel: Do you really carve for nine hours every day? Thomas: Yes. I usually start at about 8:30 in the morning and I carve until 5 or 6 at night. Every day. It’s a long time. I especially like doing these walking sticks. People really love those. And then if somebody needs a cane, I carve canes for seniors for no cost.
Sentinel: And I read that artwork helped you survive cancer as well? Thomas: In my situation, I couldn’t do anything else. I couldn’t do anything for finances, I couldn’t really work because of the situation I was in and the only thing I had was my artwork. I started
Sentinel: I also wanted to ask you about (former Tsleil-Waututh) Chief Dan George, and your connection to him. Thomas: When I first moved to Vancouver I met Chief Dan George and I was in a movie with him. And when I did get in
Sentinel: It seems like it’s been a constant thing for you in life, something that’s always positive. Thomas: Yeah, I’ve never been in trouble again. You know, the only time I was in trouble it was just for minor things anyways. Survival.
trouble, after I knew him, I used to invite him into the institution where I was and he’d come in and give talks to the boys. Inspirational talks. And try to steer us in the right direction. That was amazing meeting him. Sentinel: Have you done any acting since then? Thomas: No. With my background and everything, I’ve been always trying to stay in the back of the crowd, not in the front. But it’s been an amazing life, being self-taught, and being able to come and hang my work in a gallery is pretty amazing. Sentinel: Where can people find your art if they want to support it? The best place would be the I-Hos gallery up in Comox. Sentinel: Is there anything else you want to say? Don’t give up, find something that you have a passion to do and keep on with it. Work on it, and you’ll perfect that passion that you have. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 13
COURT HEARS FIRST NATIO Tsleil-Waututh and others celebrate with Lummi Photos and story by Cara McKenna Tsleil-Waututh and other communities fighting the Kinder Morgan pipeline finally had their time in court in October as the Federal Court of Appeal heard their case. Seven First Nations, two environmental groups and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby are asking the court to quash Canada’s approval of the $7.4 billion pipeline expansion from Alberta to Burnaby. On Oct. 13, about 100 people gathered in downtown Vancouver to celebrate the end of two weeks of hearings. Kayah George, a youth from Tsleil-
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Waututh Nation, shared how she has seen big changes in the water quality in her community even within her lifetime. She also told the creation story of her people and the huge cultural and spiritual significance of the Burrard Inlet which would see a sevenfold increase in tanker traffic under the pipeline expansion. “I’ve been told this story nearly every week since birth, it feels like,” she said. George explained that long ago, Creator put a man on the earth who was very lonely. The man saw animals who all had mates and wondered why he was alone, and prayed for company.
One day, the man had a feeling that he had to dive deep into the inlet and grab two handfuls of sediment. He brought them to shore and put them next to himself, and fell asleep in the sun. “When he woke up, there was a woman next to him, and that was our oldest ancestor,” George said. “Our oldest ancestor is that inlet.” Kayah’s father Rueben George, who has been a spokesperson for TsleilWaututh’s anti-pipeline organization the Sacred Trust, elaborated by talking about the nation’s court case. “That story that my daughter just told is the beginning of our law…and
ONS’ PIPELINE CHALLENGE totem visit after two weeks of arguing their case It was almost a year to the day that the Federal Court of Appeal process started, which is what killed the Enbridge pipeline… Since we started fighting against these tarsands pipelines, there hasn’t been a single one of them built.
that’s what our lawyers explained,” he said. “They just gave me firsthand
information that the courts were really concerned with the lack of consultation, and they were really concerned with the marine shipment.” Construction on the pipeline expansion was initially slated to begin this fall, however if the court decides against the project, it could send it back to assessment , which would cause long delays. Benjamin West, who also works with Tsleil-Waututh and Sacred Trust, said he feels hopeful about defeating the pipeline, but pointed out how long the fight has been. “This has been a fun eight years or so, hasn’t it?” West quipped. “It was
almost a year to the day that the Federal Court of Appeal process started, which is what killed the Enbridge pipeline… Since we started fighting against these tarsands pipelines, there hasn’t been a single one of them built.” After the speeches, master Lummi carver Jewell James brought in his latest healing totem pole that is on tour across North America, which people prayed on. The Lummi House of Tears Carvers regularly travel across the continent with their work as a way to bring attention to fossil fuel projects threatening Indigenous communities.
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TURNING THE TIDES
FUNDRAISING FOR INDIGENOUS COURT CASES Photos by Cara McKenna Dozens of people came together in North Vancouver in late September to raise legal money for Indigenous communities who are fighting the Kinder Morgan pipeline in court. The event called “Turning the Tides” happened in the days before First Nations, environmental groups and government took to the Federal Court of Appeal to argue their case against the pipeline expansion. The Pull Together campaign has now raised close to $600,000 for the communities fighting Kinder Morgan. At the event, Squamish Hereditary Chief Ian Campbell thanked the Tsleil-Waututh Nation for their ongoing efforts to fight Kinder Morgan. “Prior to 1960, First Nations people in Canada had no legal recourse under Canadian law to hire lawyers to protect ourselves in the advent of industrial expansion and settlers moving into our territories,” he said. “This era has come and gone, but we’re not far removed from that archaic process here in Canada and it’s time for us to evolve as a society.”
For the first time it really just sunk in, the idea of we’re still having to fight for our land and our waters and our right to exist as Indigenous people. Later, Ta’kaiya Blaney of Tla’amin Nation performed songs for the crowd. She explained that she became interested in fighting big oil when she saw the kind of impact industrial operations had on her community. “Those projects had been established before I was born, but the legacy of their operation and the ways in which is prevented us from successfully starting cultural revitalization programs, and how much that impacted our spirit as a nation, that was very tangible,” she said. “And for the first time it really just sunk in, the idea of we’re still having to fight for our land and our waters and our right to exist as Indigenous people.” More information about the fundraising effort is available at pull-together.ca.
COAST SALISH STORIES
SWA’LAM’THUT STORY KLAHOOSE FIRST NATION
In collaboration with Klahoose First Nation and Alterra Power Corp, the Jimmie Creek run-of-river hydro project was completed in August of 2016. HazelwoodConstruction.com
BUILDING FIRST NATION ECONOMIES
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My grandfather had told me this story he had learned from Swa’lam’thut. Swa’lam’thut was a great historian that my grandfather was fortunate to learn from. Long ago in Malahat, there was a time when the people were going about their day. Some were getting ready to go out fishing, some were getting ready to harvest medicines or berries, and some were getting ready to hunt. In the midst of it all, a canoe was seen from afar and someone had thought it was the Yuqulstats (Haidas). Someone yelled “the Told by Celestine Aleck Haidas are coming” and the women and (Sahiltiniye) of children were running to safety and the Snuneymuxw First Nation men were rushing to get ready to battle. But then someone had realized that it was a neighbouring Coast Salish canoe, and announced it was one of their brother canoes. Everyone went down to the beach to greet the fellow Coast Salish men. One man from the canoe had announced his chief was coming to select a wife and to get all the single women ready in a line. All the single aunts, cousins, sisters, daughters, and nieces rushed home to get ready and put on their finest clothing and fixed their hair and came back down to the beach. They were all lined up looking oh so beautiful. But at the end of the line there was a lady that had only one eye and had not been as beautiful or as well dressed as the other ladies in the lineup. All the women were all looking at one another, checking each other out. Some of the ladies had asked why she was in the lineup, telling her she was homely, only had one eye and that he would never choose her. The ladies laughed as each had teased her. The woman stood at the end of the line with her head hanging down and crying. The chief had pulled up and got out of his canoe and went to the front of the line and said, “Oh what a fine beautiful woman you are.” Then he moved to the second woman in line: “Oh so beautiful,” then moved to the next lady and said, “Oh this is going to be a tough choice in finding a wife when all these women are so beautiful.” Eventually he had gotten to the end of the line and saw the woman who was sad and looking down. He lifted her chin up and looked at her, and could tell she had been crying. “I will take this woman as my beautiful wife,” he said. He had known deep in his heart that the other women must have said mean things to this woman. An elder that was there that fine day long ago had said “she will make his finest wife and she will take such great care of him.” 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.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett speaks in the Snuneymuxw administration building on Oct. 10. –Submitted photo.
SNUNEYMUXW, CANADA REACH AGREEMENT ON 79 ACRE RESERVE CLAIM Nation signs $49 million agreement for loss of reserve that could help solve land crunch Snuneymuxw and Canada have signed a $49 million agreement that could help the nation to expand its crowded reserve lands and house more of its members. After many years of work, the community has settled a specific claim for the loss of its 79 Acre Reserve, which was illegally taken from the band by the Canadian government at some point after 1862. Since then, Snuneymuxw has struggled with losing its land base in the heart of Nanaimo, Chief John Wesley explained. “Snuneymuxw has struggled with the smallest Indian Reserve land base per capita in the country,” he said. “With
With this settlement, Snuneymuxw is enabled to take meaningful steps to make a real difference in the lives of our people.
this settlement, Snuneymuxw is enabled to take meaningful steps to make a real difference in the lives of our people.” On Oct. 10, Wesley signed the agreement with Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett during a celebration at
the Snuneymuxw administration building. Bennett said the agreement represents that historic grievances can be addressed in a satisfactory way. “Canada is committed to the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership with all Indigenous peoples – and settling this dispute is a further demonstration of that commitment,” Bennett said in a statement. Snuneymuxw now has the option to use the claim money to purchase land or invest in other opportunities. If the nation does acquire land, it can request reserve status. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 19
VIU president Ralph Nilson, left, celebrates the new learning partnership with B.C. Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon. –Submitted photo.
$13.5 MILLION FOR INDIGENOUS STUDENTS AT VIU New funding will aim to increase enrolment and support existing students Vancouver Island University has announced $13.5 million in funding that will support Indigenous students both financially and through new programs. The university has partnered with the Rideau Hall Foundation and Mastercard Foundation to create new opportunities for Indigenous learners after consultation with elders, youth and other institutions. According to VIU, twice the number of First Nations students will now be funded to attend post-secondary, allowing an additional 250 students to complete their programs. VIU has also added more support for Indigenous students on its campuses and also in 20 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
area First Nations that will help youth to access higher education. VIU Elder-in-Residence Gary Manson (Xulsimalt) of Snuneymuxw First Nation said the additional support is exciting because it will reach young people who need someone to believe in them. “With this learning partnership, we are providing additional support to reach deeper into the communities to young people we don’t usually see,” he said. “For me, it is about healing, which is a long time incoming. This is a start to creating more hope rather than hopelessness.” VIU said it will expand and adjust its efforts to create more opportunities for
Indigenous youth over the next five years. Student Catherine Joe said it was an emotional moment for her when she learned that she would get help to finish her degree. “Without this support and initiative I wouldn’t be able to meet my original end goal, which was to work with and inspire our children and our youth as they are our future,” she said. The partnership, the first of its kind in Canada, also involves Yukon College and amplifies existing financial contributions from government, Indigenous communities, the private sector, and the post-secondary institutions. The total value is $50 million.
Drummers perform a song during an announcement for new funding for Indigenous students at VIU. –Submitted photo.
NMTC AWARDED EVENTS CONTRACT FOR MMIWG INQUIRY Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council has been awarded a $2.6 million contract by Canada to handle the logistics for the national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. The tribal council’s events department will use the majority of that money to plan and facilitate hearings as well as paying out expenses and travel costs for attending family members.
Naut’sa mawt CAO Gary Reith said Allison Gavin, director of marketing services, has been busy heading the project. “It’s obviously a very heavy subject matter, and Allison has been doing an amazing job,” he said. The inquiry has nine hearings scheduled for this fall and is expected to file its final report on the matter by Dec. 31, 2018.
NEW CHIEF FOR HOMALCO Homalco First Nation has a new chief after the band held elections on Oct. 23. Darren Blaney was running against incumbent chief Mary Ann Enevoldsen.
Blaney was running on a platform of financial accountability as well as supporting youth, elders, culture and healing. He is an artist and is married to
North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney. A swearing in ceremony for the nation’s new leadership is expected to happen imminently.
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Bernie Williams of the Haida Nation, left, and Mabel Nipshank sing a song at the start of the memorial event.
SISTERS IN SPIRIT
MMIWG REMEMBERED DURING ANNUAL VIGIL DTES advocates spoke of concerns about Canada’s inquiry into the problem, now underway Story and photos by Cara McKenna
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An annual vigil to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls this year came in the midst of Canada’s long-awaited national inquiry into the problem. Several people who attended the Sisters in Spirit vigil on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Oct. 4 had recently returned from Smithers, B.C., where commissioners were hearing from family members of MMIWG. Skundaal Bernie Williams (Gul Kitt Jaad) of the Haida Nation, an artist and frontline worker, joined a group who walked 350 km along the Highway of Tears before the hearings began. She said at the vigil that going north for the event was a good experience, however she believes that the inquiry’s design is inherently flawed. She said part of the root of the problem is sexual abuse that is happening in some Indigenous communities and that she believes the inquiry has failed to address.
“I always try to imagine, what would it look like if we all worked together to help this inquiry to succeed,” she said. “Because one thing I do know is that the Trudeau government knows darn well that this is set up to fail.” Fay Blaney of Homalco Nation, who has been fighting for Indigenous women’s rights and an inquiry for many years, had similar concerns about the way the inquiry is being handled. She said the government must go into Indigenous communities to encourage survivors of violence to speak up, rather than waiting to be invited. “I have lobbied for a long time for the inquiry and for an end to male violence,” she said. “If I thought there was a political will on the part of the government to do something about violence towards Indigenous women, maybe I wouldn’t have lobbied so hard.” Later in the event, family members of missing and murdered women were given
a chance to take to the microphone to talk about their loved ones, and a moment of silence was held. Mabel Nipshank of the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre gave a passionate speech about how it feels to keep watching other Indigenous women go missing. “I think that I am really one of the lucky ones who have made it this far in my golden age, because so many of my sisters have not made it here,” she said. “I remember as a kid, when my cousins did not return, when my aunties did not return, that something horrible had happened to them, and I think those numbers are very unreported.” Nipshank asked the dozens of people who attended the event to make a commitment to decolonize. “I would like us to make a commitment to decolonize our minds, our spirits, our bodies, and not act out by what we have been taught,” she said. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 23
Musqueam activist Audrey Siegl, centre, holds cedar boughs as she participates in a song.
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SIX-DAY JOURNEY CELEBRATES WILD SALMON Event honours important fish as B.C. Indigenous communities notice numbers declining Photos by Murray Bush Wild salmon have been of immense importance to Indigenous people in B.C. since time immemorial. But in recent years, many communities have noticed wild salmon stocks declining, prompting new concerns about what’s causing the low numbers and how the fish can be saved. That’s why organizers started the Wild Salmon Caravan – a journey that follows wild salmon on their annual migration from the Salish Seas to Secwepemc territory. The third annual Caravan took place from Oct. 7 to 12, starting in Vancouver
where hundreds took part in a parade and salmon feast before moving on to communities including Chilliwack, Merritt, Kamloops and Chase, and ending at the Adams River. The event works with Indigenous people, environmental health organizations and artists to host ceremonies, performances and feasts along the journey’s route. Secwepemc Matriarch Bernice Heather explained that the event is meant to honour wild salmon as participants follow them home. “Wild salmon are our most important
Indigenous food and cultural and ecological keystone species in the forests, fields and waterways,” she said. At the opening event in Vancouver, Senaqwila Wyss of Squamish Nation said it was powerful to see how many people want to fight for the salmon. “We all are here together, people from all corners of the earth,” she said. The event also overlapped with ongoing fish farm occupations happening along the coast, which have seen dozens of Indigenous leaders protest the farms that they say negatively affect wild salmon populations. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 25
Women lead the way during the first Caravan event in Vancouver on Oct. 7
The parade headed down Commercial Drive before enjoying a salmon barbecue at Trout Lake.
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Eddie Gardner (T'it'elem Spath) of the Skwah First Nation speaks to the crowd.
Carleen Thomas of Tsleil-Waututh Nation took part in the event.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 27
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People enjoyed bannock with their salmon as the first Caravan event wrapped up with a feast.
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MYRA offers a complete suite of technology services - from fully managed infrastructure operations to project-based technical services, strategic business planning, and enterprise business architecture. Our team of professional IT consultants will work with you to investigate, analyze, design and implement business process and technical solutions that allow you to achieve all of your strategic goals.
Business & Technical Services
Business Consulting Services Storage and Server Management System Administration Project Management & Business Analysis
Product Sales Networking Virtualization Cloud
Victoria Office
Vancouver Office
488A Bay Street 740-1190 Melville Street Victoria, BC V8T 5H2 Vancouver, BC V6E 3W1 T: 250-381-1335 T: 604-688-1719
G MYRA.com
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Integrated Data Management
Systems for First Nations • Band Membership & Community Database
• Financial Management Tools
• Community & Human Resource Management
• Housing & Asset Management
• Post-Secondary Education
• DoculinX™ - Electronic Filing Cabinet
• Patient Travel, and many more ...
Contact us today! 1-866-699-6829 info@xyntax.com www.xyntax.ca
One Solution. One System.
Xyntax (pronounced Zin-tax) is an Aboriginal-owned, Canadian software system that is tailored to serve the needs of First Nations. For more than 30 years, Xyntax has provided an integrated suite of easy-to-use financial and administrative management tools, exclusively for First Nations. Xyntax software is not only robust, secure and affordable, it provides high levels of personalized support to its customers. Please contact Xyntax for a demonstration of how it can provide the solutions you require for your organization.
Canada’s Premier First Nation Data Management Software