FEATURE

FEATURE Legendary chief’s daughter sets record straight in book

by Charlie Smith

Filmmaker Doreen Manuel is proud of how her father, former chief George Manuel, fought for Indigenous rights in Canada and around the world. Photo by Taehoon Kim/ Capilano University.

Secwepemc/Ktunaxa lmmaker and educator Doreen Manuel wants people to know that her mother was fearless. And Manuel, Making of the Modern Indian Movement. As her mother, Marceline, went into labour on February 13, 1960—just prior to giving birth to Doreen Manuel—she one of six children of legendary former National Indian Brotherhood president George Manuel, includes an anecdote to demonstrate this in the preface of a new edition of Brotherhood to Nationhood: George Manuel and the climbed into the back of an open pickup truck. ere, Marceline rode for 30 miles in the middle of winter, from Neskonlith to a hospital in Kamloops, where Doreen was

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So why was it necessary to issue a new edition of Brotherhood to Nationhood, a fulllength biography of George Manuel that was written by Peter McFarlane in 1993, just four years after the long-time chief’s death?

“There are a couple of things,” Manuel told the Straight by phone. “One is that it’s being used a lot in universities and there’s been a lot of people asking about it. And it was out of print—it was difficult to get.”

The other reason is that Manuel wasn’t happy with how McFarlane didn’t consult sufficiently with women in the family about the biography. As a result, Manuel felt that McFarlane overlooked the contributions of Marceline in helping her husband become one of the most influential Indigenous people in the world. He cofounded the World Council of Indigenous Peoples in 1974, setting a process in motion that led to the eventual approval of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Manuel emphasized that she appreciated McFarlane’s friendship with the family, noting that he wasn’t one of those parachute journalists who shows up, writes a story, and then vanishes. But one of Manuel’s biggest objections about the 1993 book revolved around how McFarlane characterized a decision by the Neskonlith band to reject federal funding in the 1970s when her brother Bobby was chief. McFarlane described this decision in the first edition as a “serious tactical error”.

Manuel, on the other hand, told the Straight that she felt that this was a turning point for the Neskonlith people because they really came together at that time.

“Before that, there was so much alcoholism in that community,” Manuel said. “It was like we dried up overnight.”

After federal funds were refused, people planted potatoes, squash, and other vegetables; earnings from hay fields were pooled to cover the cost of essentials, including electricity; and hunting and butchering parties brought the community together.

“It did something for us that people didn’t recognize because they can’t see through the decolonized lens,” Manuel said.

It all stems down to a singular belief that we are all working for the future generations. And he relayed that to me over and over again.

– filmmaker Doreen Manuel, speaking about her father George Manuel

IN A WIDE-RANGING interview with the Straight, Manuel revealed that before becoming a filmmaker and later director of the Nat and Flora Bosa Centre for Film and Animation at Capilano University, she taught life skills.

“I used to be a counsellor and I used to develop social-wellness programming for recovering heroin addicts, women escaping violent relationships, youth at risk, youth escaping gang violence, sexual abuse and

prevention for children and parents,” she said. “And through all of that training and helping people, the thing that I would always start with is teaching them their history.”

This, Manuel added, was intended to affect their identity so they would be inspired to save themselves.

“I wasn’t going in trying to be a saviour of people,” she emphasized. “My dad didn’t go into communities all over the world to be their saviour. He went in to teach them a few basic skills and inspire them to save themselves and to stand up for themselves. That was my approach always with my people.”

The Straight asked Manuel how her father, George, was able to transcend extremely challenging health problems—as well as the legacy of attending the notorious Kamloops Indian Residential School— on his way to igniting far greater interest in Indigenous sovereignty.

“It all stems down to a singular belief that we are all working for the future generations. And he relayed that to me over and over again,” she recalled. “He used to say, ‘Whenever you accept funds, you’re working for your people.’”

These values became ingrained in Manuel and her siblings through their constant retelling by their father.

She then shared a story of being on the third day without food or water in the Rocky Mountains when she was making her movie The Fast.

“Something prompted me to stare at this single little raindrop hanging from a tree,” Manuel said. “Just looking at that raindrop, I was just filled with thought about all the water that was suffering for us.

“And the more I thought about it—the more I started to pray for the water—my own thirst fell away,” she continued. “And all of my own suffering fell away because I was so absorbed with care and love for the water. Then the sky broke open with sunshine and it got warm.”

To her, this was a reminder that in hard times, if you forget about yourself and just pray and work for the people, anything negative is just going to fall away. g