FEATURE
Hillary Hyland and Iggy George
Tsleil-Waututh Perspectives on Climate Change Hillary Hyland and Iggy George speeches from TWN Climate Summit 2018 IGGY: Everytime I get in front of a mic I want to sing: (to the tune of Folsom Prison Blues), ”I hear the tankers coming. They are coming through the narrows. I don’t know where they are going to crash. But I know it’s some time soon.” HILARY: When I was asked to speak I was thinking of the different climate change impacts that I have witnessed myself. I thought I haven’t lived long enough yet. But in my short 24 years, I started to think of the creeks and beaches that I used to visit. I thought of the salmon that I used to watch my Mom and Grandpa pull from the river and filet. I’ve seen all that be impacted by our changing climate. And I feel very privileged that I get to see both sides of the
scientific world but also the cultural side. How our culture has been changing over the years. Yesterday, I asked my Uncle Iggy how can our culture sustain (through) climate change? How can we continue to pass on the skills of these teachings when I don’t get to practice them everyday? I don’t get to filet a fish every summer because of low salmon stocks. I don’t get to visit the creeks that my grandma used to visit because they are all dried up now. What about all the forage fish that my grandma used to talk about that I haven’t been able to because there are no sea beds or bull kelp beds. I am lucky to be able to talk to my Uncle Iggy to talk and be able to absorb that knowledge, because with changing times and technologies, as well. In the old times we used to orally pass down our traditions and now with technology that’s WINGSPAN FALL/WINTER 2019
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