Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw
Shuswap People of the North
Lexey’em “to tell a story” August 2013 - Pesqelqleten’ (Many Salmon Month)
A Chief’s Tribute to Dorothy Phillips By Nancy Sandy, Sugar Cane/T’exelc
I got to know Dorothy during our terms as Chiefs for our communities, Xatsull and T’exelc. We served during the time the Chiefs were still acting as treaty negotiators and so we saw a lot of action locally, provincially and nationally. Her leadership style was strong, persistent, opinionated, loyal, caring, and she was an incredibly hard worker. As an individual, Dorothy had all of those attributes. She was also funny, soft spoken, and sometimes, shy and naïve with a soft, gentle and kind personality. I also remember Dorothy as a talented guitar player and singer who often sang in Tsilhqot’in for gatherings of all kinds. As a mother, I knew Dorothy to have unconditional love for her children and grandchildren and she felt deeply their joys and pains. We had many heart to heart talks about the challenges in our lives as leaders, mothers and women in our society. Dorothy was incredibly honoured to be the Kukwpi7 for Xatsull. I remember we talked about her being Tsilhqot’in and Kukwpi7 in the Secwepemc Nation and the potential for conflict that might arise for her. In all of our deliberations for the Tribal Council and the Treaty Society, Dorothy weighed all the options in her decision-making, and her loyalties lay with the people who elected her to represent them. She raised her community’s issues and fought to have them recognized and respected. Some may have considered her bull-headed, but I believe she held these strong opinions because she was in a position of power, and firmly understood her role as a Kukwpi7 and the role she exercised in protecting the people’s rights. In our travels I always encouraged her to experience everything even though it might have been outside of her comfort zone. On a trip to an Assembly of First Nations meeting in Toronto we arrived at the airport, and there were no taxis in sight, and this man came running over to us and said “ladies I can bring you to your hotel for a flat rate.” I told Dorothy “come on lets go.” As we drove along I told her “do you realize we just got in a fancy long black car with a man we don’t know?” The Toronto International Jazz Festival was happening at the same time as the assembly and the hotels were heavily booked. Marg Casey got us into a hotel that had twenty plus floors in the downtown core. In the early morning hours the fire alarm went off and people were running back and forth in the hallways. I checked it out and it didn’t look serious so I went back into my room. The fire alarm went off again – I checked and no one was out in the hallways – so I just went back to bed and slept soundly for the rest of the night.
The next morning I asked Dorothy what she did and she said she had walked down all the twenty or so flights of stairs to the lobby. Down along the stairwell there were broken beer bottles and wine bottles and crazy people partying away. As we went for breakfast there was this long line of Chiefs at the hotel reception desk angrily complaining about all the partying and the noise and trying to book into a different hotel.
The Chiefs as Treaty Negotiators in the early days of the NStQ treaty negotiations (l-r) The late Antoine Archie, Canim Lake Band; Larry Camille,Canoe Creek Band; the late Dorothy Phillips, Soda Creek Band and Nancy Sandy, Williams Lake Band at the negotiating table.
Later in the day I found a hotel that had a room and I asked her if she wanted to move there and share a room. I told her “Dorothy we can pack up our junk and move or we can call this one an adventure – what do you wanna do? We only have a couple more nights and I’m sure they kicked out all the yahoos.” She agreed to stay even though there were empties in the elevator and in the hallways as we made our way out of the hotel to where the assembly was being held. There were no more fire alarms and we were safe despite the rowdiness.
I think as the two women Kukwpi7’s at the tribal council we were able to find a good balance and have camaraderie with the male Kukwpi7’s. The guys liked to tease her because she could be easily embarrassed. I remember a meeting we had in Kamloops away from all the busyness at home to review the tribal council’s personnel policy that we had commissioned. During our dinner break Dorothy ordered ribs and when they came they were these huge beef ribs that filled a platter. We laughed and laughed and she tried to share them with us but we told her “oh no you ordered them – so you have to finish everything on your plate.” I think it was Chief Antoine Archie who told her “they look like Fred Flintstone’s ribs.” As Kukwpi7’s in our communities we often carry a lot of confidential information about the individuals and families that can be a heavy burden. Sometimes it is very difficult to separate the personal from the professional. Other times we get to enjoy the successes of our people and to celebrate. We also got to be supportive of other First Nations in their endeavors and experience the many cultures in this beautiful province and
across the country. Sometimes the people forget we are human too, and the barrage of criticism or discontent can wear away the resolve to be the best we can. The words and acts of appreciation are sometimes few and far between, but those words and acts are such food for our spirit and we continue to the best we can for the people. As Chiefs of the Cariboo Tribal Council, Dorothy, Antoine Archie, Larry Camille and I decided we would always vote as a block at provincial and national meetings because we would be stronger as one. However, we also agreed to respect each other’s autonomy to vote as our conscience dictated. When the Nisga’a Treaty was being promulgated into law we decided to go to the House of Commons in Victoria and support them. We respected their right to make that decision for the Nisga’a Nation. David Zirnhelt was MLA then and introduced us in the house as witnesses to the Nisga’a Treaty. I want the people to know Dorothy’s name as Kukwpi7 of Xatsull is listed as a witness to a historic moment in First Nations and Canadian history. I celebrate Dorothy’s life and the best she had to give and remember the gifts she had as a leader and an individual. In acknowledgement of her leadership, I ask of you to honour her dedication by being kind to your fellow man, express your love for your family, and take that minute to say how so very much you appreciate your loved one. Kukstetemc Brenda, Rhonda, Debbie, Geri and Johnny, and John for sharing your mother (and spouse) with us and always be proud of her accomplishments as she was of yours.