Volume 16 Issue 1 February 2020
SEN̓ ÁḴW
Sḵwxwú7mesh makes history with massive development PAGES 12 - 15
Weaving governance PAGES 21 - 23
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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
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COVER: Sḵwxwú7mesh Coun. Khelsilem stands at Sen̓ áḵw, the site of a massive future development for the nation. Photo by David P. Ball.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 3
RECLAIMING GRANDMOTHERS: WOMAN RECONNECTS WITH COAST SALISH FAMILY AFTER LONG SEARCH From left: Jessica Hallenbeck, Fay Blaney and Rosemary Georgeson.
4 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 5
Rosemary Georgeson, left, and Fay Blaney. Submitted photo.
Rosemary Georgeson has been looking for her Indigenous family for decades — now, she’s found relatives at Homalco and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh
A woman’s search for her Coast Salish family has led her to Homalco Nation, where she has connected with relatives that she previously didn’t know she had. For years, Rosemary Georgeson had been searching for information about her great grandmother Tlahoholt (Emma) and her great-great grandmother Sar-Augh-Ta-Naogh (Sophie). Most information about her Indigenous grandmothers had been stripped from the colonial archives. But with the help of University of British Columbia geography PhD Jessica Hallenbeck, Georgeson has finally connected with some of their descendants — rediscovering her Coast Salish identity in the process. The two have been searching for the family members together since 2014, when Georgeson was an Indigenous Storyteller-InResidence at Vancouver Public Library. While she was there, she had asked Hallenbeck 6 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
to help her to search for information about her grandmothers. “I’ve been searching all my life to know these stories,” Georgeson said in an interview. “It was a big push for me was to know who they were, where they were from, and about their lives.” The two women began going through reels and reels of microfiche — Hallenbeck utilizing her academic background to navigate while Georgeson analyzed the pieces of information through stories that she had heard as a child. At first, they only knew minimal information about the two grandmothers. But after analyzing the archives and meeting with members of Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation, they discovered much more about the women including their traditional names. Georgeson learned of her great-grandmother Tlahoholt’s children: Emily, Albert, Annie, and George. Annie was connected to Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, while her siblings were connected with Homalco.
As the pieces of the puzzle began clicking into place, Georgeson ended up discovering her cousin, Fay Blaney, who is from Homalco and lives in Vancouver. Together, they travelled to Homalco with Hallenbeck in order to share the information and to introduce Georgeson to more of her family members. The journey to Homalco was recorded in a short documentary called In Defiance of All That, which was directed by Georgeson and filmed and edited by Hallenbeck. It was produced through Lantern Films with the support of UBC’s Department of Geography and Public Scholars initiative. The documentary was included as part of Hallenbeck’s 2019 PhD thesis The water we call home: five generations of Indigenous women’s resistance along the Salish Sea. In the documentary, Georgeson and Blaney can be seen sitting on a couch, laughing together like old friends.
“Fay and I have just recently met, and we’re cousins,” Georgeson explains. “I find it fascinating that we’re just like a month apart.” Blaney nods in agreement, smiling: “And you’d think that we’d known each other all our lives, the way that we behave!” Blaney connected Georgeson to several family members at the nation including Homalco Chief Darren Blaney and Elder Bill Blaney. Georgeson shared with them some of her own family history that she knows, which is tied to Galiano Island and specifically Georgeson Bay. She was raised on fishing boats that would go back and forth between Galiano Island and Prince Rupert, through Homalco territory. The Blaneys spoke about how they grew up fishing as well, which was often a family affair and would mean everyone could eat from the ocean even when money was tight. “I was born in Church House in a small village there and we had a world of our own there, although it was isolated, I still remember a lot of the memories of it,” said Bill, who now lives on the nation’s current reserve which is landlocked away from the ocean outside of Campbell River. “I was born and raised on the water and we miss it quite a bit. I think that a lot of the members talk about that.” Fay said that disconnection — and the removal of Indigenous women from colonial archives — is all part of the wider decimation by Canada of Indigenous families and communities. “In many ways they were very successful and a lot of us are going around with this shame that we don’t really feel like we belong within our families,” she said. “This is in defiance of all that, refusing to be separated. … An act of resistance.” Georgeson said when she first started searching for her family members back in 1992, she was connected with a priest who told her: “No one had survived.” She took what he said to heart, but never stopped looking. Finding her relatives recently has been “like a miracle” to her, she said. “It just goes to show the stories that they will tell to keep our families separated,” she said. In July of 2019, a group from Homalco travelled to Galiano Island, where they in turn learned about their connection to that place, and visited the grave site of Sar-Augh-Ta-Naogh and her son William (Billy). In the final page of her thesis, Hallenbeck describes that gathering, which involved Rosemary as well as Fay and Darren Blaney and Corena Wilson. “This occasion marked the first time in 122 years that descendants of William and Tlahoholt’s daughter Emily were gathered together on Galiano Island,” the thesis reads. On the last evening of the gathering, the group gathered to screen the In Defiance of All That film. “Family who had just met for the first time gathered,” the thesis goes on to describe. “The film … brought the stories we had found of family and water to her children and grandchildren, to her family on the water, to her brothers and uncles, to her ancestors.” Now that connections have been made, Georgeson and Hallenbeck said they are looking into different options around screenings for the film, a possible museum exhibit and other ways to continue their work together. For now, more information about their research can be found at www.facebook. com/WeHaveStories or rosemarygeorgeson.wordpress.com.
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SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 7
ACTS OF RESISTANCE EXHIBIT FEATURES ‘AERIAL BLOCKADE’ BANNERS Tsleil-Waututh member Will George (Swaysən) featured in MOV exhibit after blocking tanker traffic under Ironworkers Memorial Bridge In July of 2018, Tsleil-Waututh member Will George (Swaysən) made headlines when he rappelled himself from a Vancouver bridge in opposition of Kinder Morgan. At the time, George was part of a seven-person “aerial blockade” that was held to stop tanker traffic from passing through as part of a wider action against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. During the blockade, seven 40-foot banners featuring the work of Indigenous artists also flew from the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge. Now, those banners are being featured in a new art exhibition called Acts of Resistance. The exhibit at the Museum of Vancouver features the power of art to disrupt the status quo. MOV Indigenous curator Sharon Fortney said the museum had approached blockade organizers Greenpeace about exhibiting the banners, which had been sitting in police custody, crumpled up in plastic bags. “In August of 2019 the museum was pleased to receive a donation of six of the banners from Greenpeace with consent of the artists who designed them,” Fortney said in a statement. “We immediately revisited our exhibition schedule to create an opportunity to showcase them.” The seventh banner, which George painted, is on loan to MOV as it is otherwise being used for public outreach. For the exhibition, George also created a video in collaboration with multi-media artist Ronnie Dean Harris — who painted one of the banners — sharing his experience during the blockade. “Our Indigenous rights are being completely ignored, the safety of our water is being ignored, and most of all my son’s future is at stake,” George said in a statement. “I will do whatever it takes to protect the water and my family and your family.” Other featured artists are: Brandon Gabriel, Ocean Hyland, Jackie Fawn Mendez, Marissa Nahanee, and Ed Archie Noisecat. The exhibition opens on Feb. 5 and will be on display until July. 8 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Will George (Swaysən)
An aerial blockade that took place under the Iron Workers Memorial Bridge on July 3, 2018. Photo: Greenpeace Canada.
Marissa Nahanee - Marissa Nahanee -(Maykw Cha7em)
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 9
Ian Campbell.
SḴWXWÚ7MESH TERRITORIAL MAP SHOWCASES STORIES OF LAND Piece by Hereditary Chief Ian Campbell was recently unveiled at the Museum of Vancouver and will be used as a teaching tool A territorial map painting by a Sḵwxwú7mesh hereditary chief showcases hundreds of stories that are tied to the nation’s land. Ian Campbell’s largescale piece “Temixw” contains a total of 308 images that relate to his own connection to the territory, traditional legends and teachings he learned from elders. The map is now on display in the main lobby 10 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
of the Museum of Vancouver after an unveiling and witnessing ceremony in December. “Art is such a great way to showcase our rich history that spans many thousands of years,” Campbell said in an interview. “And having an opportunity to showcase this here at such a prominent museum in Vancouver is a tremendous honour, because we’ve been
invisible in our own land for far too long.” Campbell said he has been thinking about the idea for a territorial map for many years. When he was approached to do the piece, he called up Stz’uminus artist Luke Marston, who gave him guidance on how to scale the ideas and put them to paper. The result is a map containing an assortment of
images that are both realistic and traditional, with a Sḵwxwú7mesh weaving design painted alongside. Campbell said the work took him about two and a half months to complete. “I really wanted to balance mythology, actual accounts, transformation, ecological values,” he said. “I wanted to be inclusive of the Musqueam, Sḵwxwú7mesh and Tsleil-Waututh … to show that we are one family in Vancouver, the shared territories.” In the map, Campbell painted lands stretching from the Lower Mainland and beyond, stretching up through the District of Squamish. He pointed out how the painting really begins with a creation story represented in the top right showing Raven, Seagull and the Box of Daylight. From there, the painting delves into Sḵwxwú7mesh stories of the first ancestors, animal transformation stories and ecological memory. Purposefully, Campbell kept all of the stories and history prior to settler contact. “I wanted to show pre-contact to demonstrate that our land is laden with mythology, with place names, with history,” he said. “And every one of these stories, I wanted to simply use one symbol to show that story.” On the right side of the map is a colourcoded legend that viewers can refer to in order to see names in both Sḵwxwú7mesh and English that refer to the people, places, and things seen in the images. Campbell has also written an acknowledgement that recognizes his grandparents — Chief Lawrence Baker and June Baker — and a list of other people he has learned from. The work is expected to remain at MOV for the next five years, after which it remains to be seen where it will go. Campbell said he hopes it will continue to be used as a teaching tool. “I wanted this to become a showcase for schoolchildren,” he said. “Not only Squamish children, but all children, to come appreciate that this is really a story of humanity and our resilience.”
Hundreds of stories are depicted in the details of the piece, including the Two Sisters.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 11
SNUNEYMUXW TO GUIDE ‘TE’TUXWTUN PROJECT’ DEVELOPMENT Nation has joined B.C. Housing, city and school district on plans to build community services on Nanaimo’s Fifth Street Corridor Snuneymuxw First Nation has joined in on a partnership to develop three properties in Nanaimo’s Fifth Street Corridor. The nation announced in December that it has joined in on a deal with B.C. Housing, The City of Nanaimo and Nanaimo-Ladysmith Public Schools that was initially announced in 2018. The development has now been named the Te’tuxwtun Project after the traditional Coast Salish name for what’s now commonly known as Mount Benson. “Reconciliation is about upholding Indigenous rights and connecting and strengthening our relationships,” said Doug Routley, the MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan, in a statement. “Indigenous peoples must be part of decision-making that affects them, their families and their territories.” Plans for the three developments on Fifth Street and Howard Ave include affordable rental housing, a new location for a Learning Alternatives school district program and parks and recreation services. The planning process is still continuing, but there will be more community services to come including health services or child care, according to a press release. B.C. Housing’s website says the process will be guided by Snuneymuxw and there will also be a cultural element included in the development. The result will be “a village grounded in ancestral knowledge,” according to the vision statement. “The Te’tuxwtun Project, built on the teachings of the land, will provide the foundation to both protect and improve the quality of life for all present and future community members,” the statement says. The development is currently in its preliminary stages. More information is available at www.bchousing.org. 12 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Sḵ wxwú7mesh Coun. Khelsilem stands at the development site.
SEN̓ÁḴW DEVELOPMENT SET TO GENERATE BILLIONS FOR SḴWXWÚ7MESH The 6,000-unit project on ancestral village site has been long in the making — and its 11 towers’ “Indigenized” design will soon start construction in the pricey heart of Vancouver By David P. Ball Sen̓áḵw, one of the Sḵwxwú7mesh Nation’s ancestral village sites, was a seasonal fishing community that was shrunk onto a reserve in the 19th century before the RCMP forced residents onto barges and set its houses on fire in 1913. But thanks to a multi-billion real estate deal on the site, Sen̓áḵw is again becoming a household word in the Lower Mainland — after nearly nine-in-ten Sḵwxwú7mesh voters gave the green light for the massive 6,000-unit project in downtown Vancouver on Dec. 10. With the 11-acre project surrounding the Burrard Bridge’s south end starting construction as soon as 2021, Sḵwxwú7mesh leadership says Sen̓áḵw is not merely a strategic moneymaker for the nation that could rake in billions over the next century. “We’re listening to what our community says its priorities are, and we’re listening to what our land can do,” said Sḵwxwú7mesh Coun. Khelsilem in an interview at the future building site. “It’s very exciting to see how we’re going to change this city.” A flurry of media attention for what has been dubbed “Indigenized” designs has gone global about the Sen̓áḵw plans, including appearances in U.K. and U.S. papers and what Khelsilem said has been more than 30 media interviews and counting. The project “represents the single largest development on First Nation lands in Canada,” according to the nation. The Dec. 10 ballot question said it “will create a long-term income stream for the Nation, while capitalizing on Westbank’s expertise in construction and development.”
“It’s inspired by the principles that the Sḵwxwú7mesh Nation really believes in and practices,” Khelsilem said about the design by Revery Architecture — a respected Vancouver firm formerly known as Bing Thom Architects. “It became a conversation … about Coast Salish design and iconography, but that was just the first design step of many to come, and we will work with our community’s artists to add even more public art opportunities.” Indigenous-specific features of the design include buildings covered in green plants, smoother edges and few right angles for a typical apartment buildings, and a large amount of recreation space — potentially even a lacrosse arena. Renderings also suggest hanging wood canoes incorporated into the design. While the 56-storey size of its tallest skyscraper — making it the third highest in the city — has rattled some Vancouverites concerned about density, the fact that its 6,000 housing units are planned to be more than two-thirds rental is seen as a lifeline to thousands of residents who have been pushed out of the housing market as prices climbed over the past five years, as renovictions and demolitions soared. For the estimated 30 per cent of units set aside for homeowners, however, they would not own the title to the land underneath them, but only their condominium unit on a 99-year lease — a long-term arrangement common in Vancouver’s False Creek area known as a “leasehold.” Asked what other First Nations in the region could learn from the Sḵwxwú7mesh process, Khelsilem advised paying very close attention to communicating, and said documenting SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 13
throughout the process is key. He said separating out band business from council politics is vital to ensuring such lucrative deals are transparent to members. The project is being carried out by the nation’s Nch’kay Development Corporation, which decided to partner with Westbank Projects Corp. for the project. Westbank will keep half of the profits, and the other half go to the nation, who need only contribute land underneath the buildings to what’s estimated to cost at least $3 billion to build. The nation anticipates billions of dollars in revenue from the project — and expects to secure several hundred rental units for its own members, as well as discount pricing on the condos. In mid-2017, council started the process of assessing the best use of the land, and then issued a call for proposals from interested developers to partner with. Those proposals were then vetted by accountants Ernst and 14 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Young, who recommended Westbank. In November, the nation held at least eight information sessions, plus by-request meetings with Sḵwxwú7mesh families. Some have criticized Westbank and its owner for years of sizeable political donations — until the current B.C. NDP government banned corporate donations outright — as well as profiting off of rampant real estate speculation, vacant investment properties and an influx of billionaires’ offshore cash. On social media, anti-development critics have questioned the project’s high density in a generally low-rise neighbourhood. “Even over the period of a couple of decades, both sides of False Creek have transformed dramatically,” the project’s website countered, calling Vancouver a “young, evolving” city. “The development of Sen̓áḵw should be viewed through the lens of the Vancouver of 2050, not the Vancouver of 2020.” The land is estimated to be worth $600 million,
according to the nation. Sḵwxwú7mesh would receive payments at every phase of construction, as new occupants move into each building over its 10-year building timeline, and the profits for the 99-year length of each lease. For one direct descendent of Sen̓áḵw chiefs, the proposed development is “a good thing to help generate revenue for our people,” X̱ats’alanex̱w Siy̓ám̓, also known as Victor Harry, said in an interview. His great-grandfather, Welweltsut Siy̓ám̓ (Chief Alvie Andrew), was the last inhabitant born in the village; his great-great-grandfather was Sen̓áḵw Chief Andrew-Xi7nexwtn. “It means a lot to me,” he said of the project, “because of all my ancestors that lived there … in Sen̓áḵw, so the legacy of my family comes from there.” But although the majority of the 827 who voted said yes to the plan, out of 3,000 eligible, some Squamish members have mixed feelings about the development.
T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, a Sḵwxwú7mesh artist and ethnobotanist, is descended from the celebrated chief Xats’alanexw and his wife Swanamia. She said she “had dreams of the name of that village” when her daughter was born, only later learning the village had been burned to the ground by government decades ago to clear its residents. She said she felt there was too little time for members to be informed about and question the proposal, and that amidst members’ “mistrust” in how corporations have treated them, partnering with one of the province’s most powerful developers was concerning. Additionally, she hoped to see much more than just 400 of the 6,000 units set aside for members amidst a housing crisis on-reserve, as well as opportunities for Sḵwxwú7mesh -owned businesses.
“There are lots of things we could have done with that land,” she said. “I have so many mixed feelings about it. We want it for housing for our people, not just to create a business opportunity … I think they could have found a better way — but it might have taken another 20 years and we are tired of waiting.” Khelsilem said leaders held multiple open houses, made all the business documents available, held Facebook live streams, and hosted family meetings when requested. “We tried to explain it as best as we could,” he said, “and hopefully we left people educated enough to make a decision or recommend a decision to those who didn’t know.” Khelsilem said the project requires only leased land from the nation and doesn’t carry any financial risk for its members. The development is on land that’s owned outright
by Sḵwxwú7mesh. It doesn’t need any approval from the City of Vancouver — nor does it need to meet provincial regulations. But re-designating Sḵwxwú7mesh land did require the blessing of members under Indigenous Services Canada laws. Just getting the land back from the province was a lengthy process, starting with a major groundbreaking lawsuit in the 1970s, that ended with victory in 2001 and a settlement two years later. “Our case was ongoing since I was really little,” Khelsilem recalled, standing on the original village site, protected from rain by the bridge above. “I remember coming here for a celebration after the (court) settlement came through, when we still had a lot of our elders alive who were from here, lived here, and gave testimony in court.”
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 15
TSLEIL-WAUTUTH’S INNOVATIVE GOVERNMENT HQ IS ‘FOCAL POINT FOR COMMUNITY’ From recycled fishing net carpets to eco-energy systems, the wavy-roofed new administration and health building could be just the beginning for nation
By David P. Ball Tsleil-Waututh’s new administration and health building has become a source of pride in the nation, capturing attention with its intricate cultural designs and use of recycled materials. The long-awaited centre reflects the nation’s wider environmental values and goals of sustainability, according to senior staff. The striking building was completed a year ago and is now a fully-operational hub in TWN’s Sleil-waututh Village (Burrard Inlet Indian Reserve No. 3). “The design is really intricate, but what’s really noticeable right away is our roof, which is waves,” said Greg Edgelow, the nation’s public works operations superintendent, in a phone interview. 16 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
“We tried to use as many energy-efficient features as possible. And because there’s so much glass, you can always see outside and see nature from wherever you sit.” The 31,000-square-foot, two-storey structure’s stepped, wavy roof reflects the waters of Salish Sea, the shores of which are just downhill from the building. It contains cedar and fir logs from the nation’s territories incorporated throughout the entire structure in not only the undulating roof, but also in imposing large beams that give a powerful feel to the main gathering space, which can hold more than 100 people. Much of the wood was supplied by BC Passive House, which specializes in environmental building materials, and the carpets are made
from recycled fishing nets. Lights are all on timers to save electricity, and radiant heating under the floor cuts back on energy use. “Most of the features that go into a LEEDcertified structure have been incorporated into the design and architecture,” Edgelow said, although the nation opted not to pursue a formal designation. The captivating design for the building was by Lubor Trubka Associates Architects. The firm said it took inspiration from the TsleilWaututh’s intense historic and ongoing connection to the water — the nation’s name means “People of the Inlet” — as well as their tens of thousands of years experience with “building technologies using the versatile properties of wood, particularly cedar.”
The rationale for the new building, according to the band’s website, was to “be a focal point for community,” and was a much-needed upgrade after a decade of major growth in revenues and staff levels. It houses the Tsleil-Waututh Nation’s government, its band administration, the community’s health clinic, and staff overseeing finance, human resources, justice and communications for the nation. The nation’s former public works director Dale Komanchuk said in a statement that the nation also used as much local timber and natural resources as possible in order to reflect its sustainable values. “From time out of mind, Tsleil-Waututh, the People of the Inlet, have relied upon the
land and water resources of their traditional territory,” said a statement on the website of the B.C. wood-product organization Forestry Innovation Investment. According to Lubor Trubka architects, their contribution to the reserve is likely just the “first phase of a campus-style village centre,” which would be “anchored and dominated by” the government and health building. “We are developing a campus concept in the context of community growth, natural attributes, civil infrastructure, and other compatible future land uses,” Lubor Trubka stated on their website. “A key requirement was to create a Master Plan expressive of Tsleil-Waututh philosophy, cultural heritage, and to establish a framework
within which the community can grow as their future needs evolve.” For Edgelow, the feedback from community members has been rewarding and a source of pride for many. “Everyone is just amazed at the architecture and the style,” Edgelow said. “With many First Nation communities, they want their history, culture and beliefs are incorporated into their buildings, and Tsleil-Waututh being at the forefront of many First Nations’ thinking on environmental issues, those aspects were really important to them. “TWN as a nation is growing, there’s not enough housing or other infrastructure to accommodate all of them, so there’s going to be a lot of future development.” SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 17
From left: Sharon Seymour, Carol Louie and Bernadette Sam-Peter at the language house. Photo by Rae Anne Claxton Baker.
GENERATIONS GATHER TO SPEAK HUL’Q’UMI’NUM’ AT DUNCAN LANGUAGE HOUSE Students can earn university degrees while improving Hul’q’umi’num’ fluency at the Shhwulmuhwqun By Cara McKenna A Hul’q’umi’num’ house in Duncan, B.C., has created space for speakers of all ages to practice and preserve the Coast Salish language. Fluency is the goal of programs at the Shhwulmuhwqun – Hul’q’umi’num’ Language House, where a group of students led by elders, language teachers and linguists meet regularly. The Shhwulmuhwqun first opened in 2018 and is run by the Hul’q’umi’num’ Language & Culture Society. The venue is home to the Simon Fraser University language academy, where students can earn undergraduate and graduate certificates, diplomas and degrees while 18 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
studying to become fluent in Hul’q’umi’num’. This includes a unique master’s degree in the Linguistics of a First Nations Language — which has so far seen 14 graduates with seven more to come this year. Meanwhile, more than 30 students have finished undergraduate certificates, while seven have finished diplomas and moved into the BA program. Rae Anne Claxton Baker, a member of Tsawout First Nation, started as an undergraduate in May 2018 and is now in the master’s program. She said the process has been overwhelming at times — but that the students of all levels work together with the fluent speakers as a community. “We’re a bunch of university students coming
together because we see this need for our children,” Claxton Baker said. “Language is really an emotional thing because it is our worldview, and it has been illegal to express our worldview for past generations. So now that it’s legal, how do we learn? … We’re here to support each other and that is huge.” SFU linguistics professor Donna Gerdts said the program is not a typical university program because the participants, along with their course work, are engaged in community-based language revitalization projects and teaching. “We have a goal of making language learning fun,” she said, with students working through innovative immersion activities such as games and theatre. The students record elders, transcribe
recordings in Hul’q’umi’num’, develop new language materials, and work on various initiatives through the First Peoples’ Cultural Council. Students also work on recording legacy stories and creating new ones — over the past six years, more than 200 new stories have been recorded through the SFU program. Chris Alphonse, a Quw’utsun’ BA student, spoke about the urgency of the work being done at the Shhwulmuhwqun. “Sadly, half of the remaining fluent speakers have passed away since we started our program,” he said. “We are working against time to strengthen our language. We face many difficulties, but the urgency and seriousness of purpose helps to keep us motivated.” Thomas Jones (Kweyulutstun) from Snuneymuxw First Nation, who teaches in the undergraduate program, added that people must be willing to go back to their communities and breathe new life into the language. “We have to be reminded to uphold the sincerity of what was left behind for us,” he said. “You have to sacrifice to be able to learn the full extent of the language, not only how to pronounce it properly but to understand the cultural significance behind the wordings.” Many of the people who are part of the Hul’q’umi’num’ Language & Culture Society have been involved in language programs for decades — in the past, often struggling to find spaces to gather in. Kwa’mutsun Elder Ruby Peter (Sti’tum’at) has been working on teaching and documenting the language over six decades and created some of the first Hul’q’umi’num’ resources. Last summer, Sti’tum’at received honorary doctorate degrees from both SFU and the University of Victoria for her work. She and her sister Delores Louie (Swustanulwut) are the lead native speakers and linguists who teach in the language academy. Prior to the language house opening, Stitum’at and the others would have to drive around to various locations, carrying their resources around and only meeting when they could find an available space. Then a few years ago, student Sally Hart
Bernadette Sam-Peter, left, with her mother Sti’tum’at.
Rae Anne Claxton Baker with her daughter Eva-Gail.
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 19
Sti’tum’at receives her honorary degree at SFU in June of 2019. Photo by Cim McDonald.
One of the ways people at the language school learn is through games. Photo by Sander Nederveen.
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moved to a new house, where she converted an empty workshop space into a language house, which opened in the spring of 2018. Hart, a PhD student who also teaches in the local school district, saw the importance of bringing many generations together in a space dedicated solely to language. Now, at the Shhwulmuhwqun, Stit’um’at works alongside her daughter Bernadette Sam-Peter, a recent MA graduate, and her granddaughter Martina Joe, who is a BA student. Joe and her two-year-old daughter AvaLynn also participate in the FPCC-funded language nest. Claxton Baker is also working within several generations of speakers. Along with doing her master’s degree, she is also doing a master-apprentice program via FPCC where she spends time speaking Hul’q’umi’num’ with her grandmother, Sarah Modeste. Meanwhile, her six-year-old daughter EvaGail has been learning the language for the last two years. “I print out her colouring sheets at home, and the other night she says to me: ‘hay ch q’a’, si’em’, hay ch qa’,’” Claxton Baker said, laughing. “For (my daughter) to be able to have pride about speaking it, that’s overwhelming to me.” The program is high in-demand, but the programs that operate through the house are all funding dependent, so there are still struggles to afford operating costs and to provide consistency for those who want to learn. Sti’tum’at expressed her pride in the progress of the students, and said she hopes the initiative can eventually grow in order to meet the needs of the community. “What I am wishing for is a Coast Salish university with all Coast Salish faculty, and all courses having Hul’q’umi’num’ language content,” she said. “That’s the dream.” More information about the language programs and other resources can be found at http://sqwal.hwulmuhwqun.ca.
ARTIST WEAVES TSLEIL-WAUTUTH GOVERNANCE MODEL Angela George (qʷənat) created complex piece during Blue Cabin residency that will be gifted to TWN
A hand-sewn seashell button blanket is used as a projection screen for a digital animation by Klahoose and Wuikinuxv First Nations artist Bracken Hanuse Corlett. His installation titled “Qvútix” (dance blanket) is part of Vancouver Art Gallery’s Deanna George of Tsleil-Waututh works on the weaving. Transits and Returns exhibition.
Deanna George, left, and Angela George.
A weaving created by artist Angela George (qʷənat) is also a complex governance document that will serve Tsleil-Waututh Nation for centuries to come. George shaped the piece titled “Weaving Governance” as part of a final project for an executive master’s degree that she recently completed at Simon Fraser University. George, a member of Squamish Nation who lives at Tsleil-Waututh, said she will gift the 10-foot weaving to TWN as a governance model for future generations. “As you can see it’s all hand woven and one of the main purposes of this is to repatriate our way of governing,” she said. “This is our set of laws. This is a document. Just because it’s unwritten it doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable.” George said while completing the two-anda-half-year program in Indigenous Business Leadership, it felt natural to translate some of the concepts into weaving designs. As she was learning about governance principals, management frameworks and leadership philosophies, she started translating the ideas into images and doodling them all over her notes. At one point, she said, she was talking with 22 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
the late Tsleil-Waututh Elder Leonard George about her desire to turn the concepts into a weaving for the nation. The elder and former chief was ill at the time, and he had told her that when he was better, they could sit down and he would tell her all the stories so she could weave them. “After he had passed, it kind of stuck with me that commitment we had made to do this and I approached the family,” she said. Leonard’s son Gabriel George, who was culturally trained by his father, shared many songs and stories with her that have become the basis of the weaving. The design is complex — starting at the top with four colours representing the four Coast Salish laws: truth, family, culture/spirituality, and wellness. The weaving contains information about Tsleil-Waututh’s territory and complex social structures, creation stories for the first man and woman, canoe teachings, and much more. One pattern is a black arrow design that features seven arrows facing each direction — representing seven generations back and another seven generations ahead. “Our responsibility here in the present is to maintain the integrity and the knowledge and
the wisdom of seven generations back so that it will sustain itself for seven generations to come,” she said. The weaving also focuses on the concept of resiliency — featuring water designs that represent that ever-changing flow that maneuvers around obstacles. “We learn to adapt and live … while still ensuring that we hang on to those ancient laws and value systems,” George said. “So everything in this has a purpose and a meaning.” George has been creating the piece as one of the artists-in-residence with the Blue Cabin — a program that is featuring various weavers on Vancouver’s seawall between September 2019 and May 2020. She has been working on the piece with help from members of Tsleil-Waututh, including Coun. Deanna George who wove behind her while George spoke about the piece during an artist talk on Jan. 11. George is the second weaver to be featured for the eight-week residency, and will be followed by Skwetsimeltxw Willard “Buddy” Joseph and Chepximiya Siyam Chief Janice George, who will start their time at the cabin on Feb. 15. More information about the program can be found at www.thebluecabin.ca.
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FISH TRAPS AND PETROFORMS IN TLA’AMIN TERRITORY A convergence of science, technology and oral traditions By Alex Sutcliffe “Tla’amin is not just like any other neighbourhood. We belong to a community that is thousands of years old!” — Words spoken by Maynard Harry. We know from the oral record that Tla’amin people have been here since time immemorial. When it comes to the scientific dating, some of the oldest remains in Tla’amin territory uncovered so far date back to over 7,600 years ago, as discovered from a Tla’amin-SFU project from a midden at Grace Harbor. The Lang Bay site could also be as much as 9,000 years old. We know Tla’amin people have been here longer than all of recorded history: Before the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, long before the birth of Christ, even before the Egyptian dynasties and pyramid building civilizations, Tla’amin people were living here on this land. Recently, archaeologists in B.C. have found evidence of sites dating back over 12,000 years on Quadra Island. In Heiltsuk territory, a 2017 archaeological excavation uncovered tools and charcoal fragments from a site that dated back to 14,000 years ago. Tla’amin people knew how to live in this part of the world. Everything that was needed was provided by the Earth. The stories, teachings, history, language and culture that defines Tla’amin people, has been passed down from one generation to the next over thousands of years of time. The relationship with the natural world was at the heart of Tla’amin culture. Changes would be slow over the millennia. Over time Tla’amin society would have continued to grow becoming increasingly organized and complex. The evidence can be seen in the stone fish traps that remain to this day, all along the coastline, but highly concentrated between Townsite and Grief Point. When archaeologists find structures on the beach that are not natural formations, they are termed features. When there are many features close together, they form a complex. The entire coastline from Townsite down to Grief Point contains back to back complexes indicating that there was a significant population density of people living in this region. The sheer scale also indicates that the people were also part of a highly organized society. It is impossible to know just how many people were living here before, early census figures were recorded after the first waves of epidemics and are not representative of earlier populations, but the Tla’amin oral record has maintained that there were thousands of people living here pre-contact. As the fish traps would have sustained large numbers of people in their prime, they point to a time period long before contact, hundreds of years ago. Much of the information about how the fish traps were used has been lost but there are still elders in the community that have memories of witnessing their grandparents using some of these structures. Freddie Louie recounted a story with his grandmother at Blubber Bay: “We used to go to saʔyayɩn and pick seaweed, but on the rock bluff when we were nearly finished she’d start beating up on the mussel and barnacle, when the tide was coming back in, she used to set her net right around it and perch, rock cod and all that come and feed on it. She had it all, didn’t have to go look anywhere else. I used to think she was crazy, lots of 24 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
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:Alex Sutcliffe, Jordan Enns, Betty Wilson and Alana Washington, with fish traps and petroforms visible in the background. Photo by Phil Russell.
ducks too and birds would come around when the tide came in, then they were gone, but they used to catch their fish like that easy... They squished up t́ᶿomaǰu (barnacles) and saʔma (mussels) before the tide was coming in, then the crabs would come in and when the tide went out the crabs would be trapped there. They also did it for p̓agi (flounder/halibut). It was kind of a delicate thing to get, in the sandy places they’d beat up on the mussels, they’d take the rocks away from there, block it off, make it sandy, then the flounder would come in too”. It’s very likely the remnants of these largescale aqua farming structures served multiple purposes. They would have doubled as clam beds and been used to target different species of fish and marine invertebrates and crustaceans. Anybody can see these features for themselves by walking along the rocky beaches at low tide. The beach in its natural state is covered in an even layer of rocks. Areas where the sand is visible is typically a result of cultural modification. Second Beach between the Mill and Willingdon Beach has 26 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
some pretty distinct structures and walls. Some of the complexes and cleared areas here are over 200m long. But even this is dwarfed by the section of coastline between the Marina and Grief Point where there are continuous structures that stretch for over a kilometer in length. Colleen Parsley from Aquilla Archaeology is one of the archaeologists who has been studying the coastal features in this area. In one of her impact assessment studies from 2014 she notes: “The intertidal zone is a continuous complex of petroform features. A complicated arrangement of rock walls and cleared beach areas forming pen-like structures were utilized as fish traps, and may have served also as clam gardens. Long linear cleared zones punctuating the traps were likely canoe skids. This complex of archaeological features is present on the shoreline for several kilometers fronting Marine Avenue from just north of the ferry terminal to at least the actual point of Grief Point… Both the subtidal petroforms and the mid-tidal petroforms contain very constricted openings which
appear to be narrow openings for fish to enter and likely were gated off with weir stakes to close off the traps… The best known intertidal archaeological site is Comox Harbour (DjSf-43) located on the East Coast of Vancouver Island directly across the Georgia Strait from Grief Point. By comparing this intertidal complex with other sites in the region we can discern that based on size, DkSd-6 (Grief Point) ranks on par with the Comox Harbour site DjSf-43, the largest known intertidal complex in the Strait of Georgia.” The Tla’amin complex towards Grief Point is “on par” with the largest known intertidal complex in the straight at Comox! It’s pretty clear the Tla’amin, K’ómoks, Klahoose and Homalco people had sophisticated knowledge and a high level of social organisation, in order to engineer, build and harness these structures on such a large scale. Back in August of 2019, the Tla’amin Nation was able to document a section of the beach along Marine Avenue at the end of the sea walk. Betty Wilson initiated the project with the intention of capturing video footage to
document the site for cultural purposes and for use in future projects. With support from the legislature she teamed up with myself and summer student Alana Washington we set out to scout the location and determine the optimal king tide windows. It was decided to capture a section of the beach towards the end of the Sea Walk, terminating where the private waterfront properties began. This section of beach was chosen as it was likely to be the least disturbed over time, with less seawalk and no direct waterfront properties. The site selected was in restricted airspace in proximity to Powell River airport so it was decided to commission Jordan Enns from Effective UAV Solutions to perform the flight. Jordan offered to model the site as part of the flight which added another valuable dimension to the information collected. Weather and tide times delayed the flight multiple times but eventually a suitable window opened up that allowed the flights to proceed. We now have drone photography and video of this stretch of beach, along with a digital surface elevation model, a high resolution ortho mosaic composite image which is the equivalent of the kind of satellite imagery you can access in google earth but offers far greater detail, and a three dimensional model of this section of the beach (which can be viewed in any web browser via this link: https://skfb.ly/6NsCC). Looking at these structures from the ground is one thing, sometimes all you can see is a pile of rocks, but when you see these sites from the air, it gives you a whole new appreciation for what these remnants represent. The sheer scale, complexity and organisation required to build these formations becomes really apparent and is quite striking. It ignites the imagination to wonder how they were used by our ancestors and what life was like pre-contact. They are also the physical remnants of an ancient system of knowledge, an ancient culture which all Tla’amin people are descendants of. Where much of the modern world is fragmented and people do not know their ancestral roots or where they came from, Tla’amin people have had an unbroken connection to this land for thousands, and thousands, of years, and that’s pretty special. This article originally appeared in Tla’amin’s Nehl Motl newspaper and is reprinted here with permission and minor edits. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 27
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Photos courtesy of VIU.
HISTORIC LONGHOUSE CEREMONY INSTALLS VIU PRESIDENT Dr. Deb Saucier was formally endowed with powers and responsibility during event in Snuneymuxw, jointly hosted by the nation and university A historic Snuneymuxw longhouse ceremony has been held for the installation of a new president and vice-chancellor of Vancouver Island University. Dr. Deb Saucier has been in the role since July, but was formally endowed with powers and responsibilities during the event late last year. There ceremony was jointly hosted by Snuneymuxw and VIU, and incorporated both Coast Salish and university protocol. Darren Good, the event’s Shqwi Qwal (speaker), said it was the first time in history that such an event took place in the Snuneymuxw longhouse. “It’s about building bridges,” Good said at the event on Nov. 15.
“It’s for the future of our children who are going to go on to university and get an education.” During the ceremony, Saucier spoke about her vision for VIU during her five-year term. She said she wants VIU to be an inclusive
A ceremony took place at the
university — one that invites everyone in and helps community succeed. “It’s a two-way street and we will walk together with the communities we serve,” she said. “Our strength is in our desire to lift each other up, to celebrate our successes and to help each other when we need it.” VIU Chancellor Louise Mandell said the ceremony was important because it represents a step forward in the ongoing process of reconciliation in the education system. “We draw from the wisdom of Indigenous laws and traditions that instruct us to ask how our actions today will impact generations into the future,” she said. “This day is part of VIU’s growth.” K’ómoks evolution bighouse toand transfer the blanket. Photo by Media One. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 29
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INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM PROJECT TO TEST WATER ON-RESERVE ‘It’s not a study. This is just empowering citizen scientists. If you want to know immediately what’s happening in your water, that’s what we can do’ An investigative journalism institute has undertaken a massive project to test for contaminated water in rural First Nations across Canada. The partnership involving more than 120 journalists from universities and media organizations is now focusing on sampling water on-reserve. The project launched by the Institute for Investigative Journalism represents the largest journalistic collaboration in Canadian history, according to the organization. The initiative first began in September of 2018 with journalists looking at water in Canadian cities, said IIJ Director Patti Sonntag. “What we found was that the cities across Canada have lead levels that are higher than what was found in Flint, Michigan at the height of the crisis there,” she said. In B.C. specifically, the problem of metal in the water was because of rusting and corrosion of old pipes, she said. “B.C. imposes less oversight than other provinces so we found many communities, dozens, where the water was acidic and untreated and all residents are at risk of having metals in their water from the pipes, especially lead,” she said. “Lead is a neurotoxin; it’s associated with all sorts of learning disabilities and (other complications).” The stories ran in major newspapers across the country. Now, in its second year, the group is looking to sample the water from First Nations in rural and remote areas to test for lead and other contaminants, in a partnership involving APTN and the First Nations University of Canada. “We have grant money if you’re curious about what might be in your drinking water we will test on your behalf and you own the data,” Sonntag explained. “It’s not a study. This is just empowering citizen scientists. If you want to know immediately what’s happening in your water, that’s what we can do.” She said the project only recently began. The organization previously sent letters out to First Nations to inform them about the project and request participation. “We’re trying to report the story in a comprehensive way that hasn’t been done yet, and hope to draw attention to issues and communities that have been largely excluded from the national media coverage,” the letter said. Interested nations are being asked to email iij@concordia.ca or call 514848-2424 ext. 2723.
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