Volume 15 Issue 9 October / November 2019
SIERRA TASI BAKER Storytelling through movement PAGES 16-18
Snuneymuxw opens new school PAGE 22-25
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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
DISTRIBUTION Todd Peacey toddp@nautsamawt.com
DESIGN Kelly Landry - Director of Communications kellyl@nautsamawt.com
PUBLISHER Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council Gary Reith, Chief Administrative Officer 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 604-943-6712 or 1-888-382-7711
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8. STZ’UMINUS (LADYSMITH) (250) 245-7155 Ray.Gauthier@coastsalishdevcorp.com www.stzuminus.com
9. TSAWWASSEN
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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. Undeliverable mail may be returned to: 330-6165 Highway 17A Delta, B.C., V4K 5B8 © 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.
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COVER: Sierra Tasi Baker (Gesuqwaluck) of Squamish Nation displays a dress by Sans Soucie and earrings by Giggy’s Beads that were featured in a performance during one of her recent Coast Salish movement workshops in Vancouver.
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K’ÓMOKS MOVES FORWARD IN TREATY PROCESS WITH NEW AGREEMENT Commitment between nation and B.C., Canada will advance treaty talks with goal to complete final stage in next two years K’ómoks First Nation has made another step towards finalizing its treaty by signing a new agreement with B.C. and Canada. The recently-signed K’ómoks First Nation Treaty Revitalization Agreement was announced in a joint media release from B.C. and Canada on Sept. 4. The document represents an agreement by all three parties to move forward on discussions, with a goal for K’ómoks to complete the final stage of its treaty process within the next two years. K’ómoks Hegus Nicole Rempel said the document will hold all parties involved accountable to finish the negotiations within the designated timeframe. “We are optimistic this will catalyze the future success of a better treaty for our nation,” she said in a statement. The five-page agreement also outlines critical priorities and issues identified by K’ómoks, and a commitment to address them.
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Some of the priorities featured in the agreement include reaching final land and cash settlements, an interest in securing 50,000 cubic metres of long-term forest tenure, and water and sewer infrastructure for parts of the community. There is also a section in the document outlining a commitment to consult with neighbouring Indigenous groups. Scott Fraser, B.C.’s minister of Indigenous relations and reconciliation, said the government’s approach to treaties is changing and the negotiations with K’ómoks reflect that. B.C., Canada and the First Nations Summit rolled out a new “rights-based” approach to the BC Treaty Process on Sept. 5. “We’re taking a new approach to treatymaking to ensure treaties can evolve over time and respect the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Fraser said. According to a media release from Canada,
the new approach more explicitly recognizes inherent Indigenous rights and is more flexible to evolve with changing circumstances over time. “A central feature of the B.C.-specific policy is basing negotiations on the recognition and continuation of rights without those rights being modified, surrendered or extinguished when a treaty is signed,” the release states. The B.C.-specific treaty negotiation process was first created in 1992, and 11 First Nations have since reached modern treaties, while 28 communities are in the advanced stages of negotiation. K’ómoks First Nation is now in Stage 5 of its treaty negotiation process — the final stage before an agreement is reached and implemented. Leaders of the Comox Valley-based community previously signed a Framework Agreement in 2008 and an Agreement-in-Principle in March of 2012.
Photo: VIU
SNUNEYMUXW, CANADA SIGN LOU TO ADVANCE DOUGLAS TREATY RIGHTS
First priority will be transfer of ‘Camp Nanaimo’ site near VIU back to the nation, according to feds Snuneymuxw has signed a Letter of Understanding with Canada that acknowledges the nation’s rights and title under the preconfederation Douglas Treaties. Snuneymuxw and the Crown entered into the Douglas Treaty on Dec. 23, 1854, as part of a series of oral and written treaties on Vancouver Island. The treaties affirmed nations’ land title and various other rights, but they have been largely ignored by government until recently, despite various court cases that have uplifted their validity. On August 26, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett and Chief Michael Wyse signed a letter agreeing to restore their historic treaty relationship. During the event in the Snuneymuxw
gymnasium, Wyse spoke of how his nation’s treaty rights have been denied by the Canadian government for more than 150 years. “Today this history of denial changes,” he said. “The future will be one will full partnership and prosperity.” The Letter of Understanding outlines a “first step” towards concrete progress, according to a press release from Canada. Outlined in the letter are unresolved matters under the Douglas Treaty related to historic village sites, hunting and fishing rights, governance over lands and resources and more. Bennett said the letter will be “a clear pathway to resolve issues that have been outstanding for many years.” As a first priority, Bennett said Canada will
reach an agreement with Snuneymuxw to transfer a 180-acre “Camp Nanaimo” property near Vancouver Island University — formerly used by the Department of Defence — back to the nation. Wyse said getting that property back will build the community’s currently small reserve lands and give Snuneymuxw citizens an opportunity for better resources and services. “Our people agreed to welcome settlers in our territory provided we maintained our villages and fields, waters and could sustain our way of life,” he said in a statement. “The affirmation of our historic treaty with the Crown, entered into by Governor James Douglas on behalf of the Crown in 1854 and upheld by our peoples over time, is of utmost significance today and into the future.” SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 5
TEN YEARS OF LIVING IN A TREATY NATION By Amy Lachance, Tsawwassen First Nation Tsawwassen First Nation celebrated our 10year treaty anniversary earlier this year and it got me thinking. Just 10 years have gone by since our treaty effective date on April 3, 2009, and so many of us have witnessed a whirlwind of change that has transformed our community in front of our very eyes. I think of the good old days, the days growing up on the “rez,” with the Tsatsu gas station and dirt piles and empty fields instead of shopping malls. Back then, I didn’t fully understand that changes had to be made for the better, that our home had perceived “faults” and things to be worked on. I was a kid, so I was accustomed to how things were. I thought I had a full understanding of what living at TFN was like, so when the gentrification of my then-uneventful sanctuary began, I wasn’t sure how to feel at first. I knew it must be a good thing because that’s what we were constantly being told, but it was hard to fully grasp a concept that even some adults didn’t understand, especially when our home began to change so drastically. My mom Kim Baird was chief when TFN was negotiating the treaty, and I witnessed how much of herself and her life she devoted to our community. No one in my family understood how my mom could possibly be so busy all the time! But I’ve come to learn it was a lengthy, difficult process — trying to negotiate for Tsawwassen’s rights — and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take its toll on me and my family sometimes. But when the treaty was signed, and the changing TFN was the talk of the town, I couldn’t help but feel the strongest sense of pride in my mom and in my community. There was this low buzz of anticipation and excitement and no one could’ve expected what was to come for our little reserve.
The changes within the community weren’t always appreciated by everyone, but they were all part of the bigger picture and that’s something I grew to understand. I learned more and more about the history of my people, my language and the meaning of treaty and how it affects us to this day. I still have a long way to go and a lot to discover. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a place of progression and my mother, alongside everyone in my community, set an outstanding example on how to push a community forward into better things, even when it’s scary or unfamiliar. My baby sister, Naomi, was born shortly after the treaty signing. My mom’s face glowed with a sense of accomplishment that I’ve rarely gotten the chance to see as she said: “Naomi is the first baby on TFN to be born in a Nation free of the Indian Act.” That is when I realized what a powerful thing we had accomplished. I now recognize that change and adaptation is a necessary part of growing up. I recognize how far we’ve come and how far we must go and that things aren’t perfect, but they certainly are better. I’m aware a lot of problems need to be solved in our community and that might mean seeing a lot of differences between then and now. But I know, no matter how many changes we see, we won’t lose ourselves in the process of establishing our independence. We remain the same Tsawwassen we always were: A land where we help and support each other, we thrive in the face of adversity, we adapt, we welcome each other with open arms and food on the table and in that way we will never change. This will always be our land facing the sea, and it’s something to be proud of. Amy Lachance is a 15-year-old member of Tsawwassen First Nation. This article originally appeared in the TFN newsletter and is reprinted here with permission and minor edits. Amy Lachance at TFN. Photo by Adrian MacNair.
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UVIC Convocation
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community infrastructure ● community planning ● subdivision design ● asset managment ● community engagement ● partnerships and agreements ● economic development ● GIS services and training ● parks, recreation and trails ● coastal planning ● community housing
We are honoured to work with Coast Salish communities. Photo from our work with Klahoose First Nation
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2019-09-13 9:46 AM
The Khowutzun dancers perform.
MALAHAT’S ANNUAL GALA RAISES $300K FOR NEW DAYCARE Community’s seventh annual Golf & Gala was held at Bear Mountain Resort and Spa Photos by Todd Peacey Malahat Nation has raised more than $300,000 that will go towards a new daycare facility after another successful fundraising gala. The seventh annual Malahat Golf & Gala was held on Sept. 20 at the Bear Mountain Resort and Spa in Victoria. The community has been hosting the event since 2013 as a way to fundraise money for community development services at the nation. In a video played at the gala, Malahat Chief George Harry Jr. said the event is about building community. “Children are our main priority,” he said. “We will expand and we will keep growing, but also we need to take care of our own community and our own people.” Coun. Cindy Harry said that excitement has already started to build among the community around the daycare facility. “They’ve been wanting a daycare (for a long time) now,” she said. “And just knowing that it’s getting built and seeing it and seeing how far the community has come... they’re excited, they can’t wait.” Nearly 200 people attended the gala dinner and auction after a golf tournament during the day. Comedian Howie Miller was master of ceremonies for the event, while the Khowutzun Singers and Dancers as well as the Lost Boys performed. Last year, the nation raised a total $316,000 that went to a new kitchen facility. Malahat is in the process of building a new state-of-the-art multipurpose centre that will include various health services, a gymnasium and the daycare.
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The day began with a golf tournament before the gala dinner.
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Pieces of Coast Salish art were auctioned off at the event.
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From left: T’Sou-ke Coun. Allan Planes, Coun. Rose Dumont, Natassia Davies, Shelley Davies and Chief Gordon Planes.
“The best part is the scarecrow, I think,” said Sandy Joe, left, about the figure he built with kids from the community. The scarecrow — who doesn’t yet have a name — is stuffed with cedar boughs. Malahat member Janet Harry stands on the right.
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MALAHAT GROWS COMMUNITY GARDEN Fresh produce to be distributed door-to-door in nation Walking through Malahat Nation’s spacious new community garden, Sandy Joe points out an impressive variety of plants that are already growing in the space. The project only began earlier this summer, but is thriving — with everything from tomatoes, lettuce, various fruit trees, strawberries, beans and melons. There is also space for herbs as well as ceremonial plants such as tobacco. Joe manages the project with help from youth from the nation who handle some of the heavy lifting. “We just started this big garden in June,” he said. “It’s mostly a food garden. It’s produce for the band.” When harvest time comes, the food will be distributed through food boxes and door-todoor to homes. Though the garden is still new, its produce is already being utilized by Malahat, with organic beans and celery being served at the nation’s annual Malahat Day celebration in August. The garden builds on a previous, much smaller garden, that Joe been operating for the past couple of years near the cultural centre. Paula Schwartz, Malahat’s director of community and social programs, said the new space was made possible in part thanks to some local business that donated time, equipment and money. The nation also received a grant from the First Nations Health Authority to buy seeds and starter plants. “This year we’ll have a pretty good harvest, and then we’ll have everything planted this fall in terms of all the trees and berries,” she said. “Next year it should be fully operational.” SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 13
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14 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
Photos: VIU
VIU CARPENTRY STUDENTS HELP BUILD HOMES AT MALAHAT NATION Malahat Chief George Harry Jr. says building up the community has meant more off-reserve members are applying to come home Carpentry students from Vancouver Island University are gaining real-world experience by building homes at Malahat Nation. The partnership between VIU and Malahat began in 2014 when Chief George Harry Jr. was a foundations carpentry student at the school’s Cowichan campus. Since the project’s inception, students have helped to build two duplexes, three singledwelling residential homes and an eightplex at the nation. The partnership has allowed Malahat to grow in an affordable way while giving the students work experience. “These new housing projects are a step in the right direction to building up our nation,” Harry said in a statement.
“A lot of our members are applying to move back home, which we haven’t had in a long time.”
VIU carpentry instructor Mike Braun said about half of the 30-week foundations program is spent outside of the classroom building onsite. Students learn skills like excavating, staking out the site, setting footings and building foundational walls. After they are finished, other professionals come in to complete the job. “We work on some theory in the classroom, apply it to a job site, then return to the classroom to learn more,” Braun said. Harry said the program has been a winwin all around, also creating employment opportunities for Malahat members. “It really is a great partnership between the Malahat Nation and VIU,” he said. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 15
SQUAMISH CHOREOGRAPHER BRINGS COAST SALISH STORIES TO LIFE Sierra Tasi Baker (Gesuqwaluck) is hosting a series of story-based movement workshops
Sierra Tasi Baker (Gesuqwaluck) demonstrates dance movement at the Cleveland Dam in Squamish territory.
By Cara McKenna When Sierra Tasi Baker (Gesuqwaluck) was a child, she recalls going to a museum with her parents shortly after returning from a family potlatch. Looking into the display cases at the B.C. Museum of Anthropology, Baker was distraught to see the same cultural objects that were just utilized by her relatives trapped behind glass. “It wasn’t as progressive as it is now, so all of the write ups said things like: ‘back in the day…,’ [putting us in the past],” she said. “And I was like, ‘but last week my uncle was wearing that mask.’ I was so confused. It really upset me.” Since that moment, integrating the liveliness and revitalization of West Coast Indigenous culture into settler society — getting it out from behind the glass — has been a mission for Tasi Baker. The now 24 year-old member of Squamish Nation recently brought some of the oral histories to life literally through a series of contemporary movement workshops. Utilizing her background in choreography and professional dance, Tasi Baker introduced a series of Coast Salish Storytelling Movement Workshops on Sept. 28 as part of Culture Days in Vancouver. “I really want the wider public audience to understand how advanced our ways of knowing and understanding the world are,” she said. She presented to three legends that reflect her own teachings and diverse background —along with being Squamish, she is Musqueam, Tlingit, Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw, Haida and Hungarian. Tasi Baker learned the legends — Raven Steals the Sun (Coast Salish), Legend of Grizzly & Bear (Coast Salish) and Dzunuḵ̓wa (Kwakwa̱ka̱ʼwakw): The Wild Woman of the Woods — from her father, oral historian and master carver Wade Baker. “I’ve really been figuring out how choreography can be used to raise the narrative, raise these ideas to a place where people can really understand each other and have more cross-cultural conversations,” she said. SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 17
“If we have respectful relations with each other, I think that could really help with a lot of issues in Western culture. … these legends, even though they’re 15,000 years old or older, have so many lessons for right now.” The free workshops booked up quickly, and each consisted of a contemporary dance performance by Baker, followed by a group discussion about each legend and movement explorations. The workshops were a pilot project, sponsored by the First Peoples Cultural Council, that she expects will be repeated in the future in some form since demand was so high. She first was recorded speaking the stories while she was working on a project with the Horniman Museum in London, England, in 2017. She was in the city finishing her Masters of Science degree in Sustainable Urbanism, and was approached by the museum to collaborate on an exhibit of Northwest Coast legends. For the project, the museum brought to life three masks by artist Steve Smith in its World Gallery. With the masks installed on storytelling posts, each figure tells its own story through interaction — for example, with Dzunuḵ̓wa, who is known for stealing children, you must hold her hand in order to hear the legend. With bear, you step in to his paw-prints. And with Raven, you must touch a glowing orb representing the sun. “They’re presented in such a fascinating way,” Tasi Baker explained. “It is my voice (telling the stories) but to me the masks have agency now, and that’s so much better than a mask behind glass.” That exhibit is on long-term display, and Tasi Baker has collaborated to combine the legends she recorded with music for performances and the storytelling workshops. More information about future workshops as well as Tasi Baker’s family business Sky Spirit Consulting is available at www. skyspiritconsulting.ca.
Dylan French, left, with his son Rowan and partner Michelle. Photo submitted by family.
HOMALCO MAN’S GIVING SPIRIT LIVES ON THROUGH SCHOLARSHIP Dylan French Memorial Scholarship available to First Nations youth who want to pursue trades school The late Homalco member Dylan French always wanted to help others. That usually meant hosting friends who were going through a hard time, or simply spreading kindness to those who needed it. His mother Mary French said she recalls how he once literally took the shoes off his feet to give to a homeless man on a cold night. “When Dylan passed, I remember saying to my husband: ‘It’s amazing how many people felt like Dylan was their best friend,’” she said. “He was this rugged, big strong young man — a tradesman — and he just had this huge heart.” Now, two years after Dylan’s tragic death in a car accident in October of 2017, his giving spirit is living on through a new scholarship. The Dylan French Memorial Scholarship is a partnership between his family and Homalco
First Nation that was first announced in 2018. At a golf tournament fundraiser in Campbell River this July, the community was able to raise $28,000 in his honour. Those funds will be available to First Nations high school students from School District 72 who want to go to trades school. Mary said it was important to her that the scholarship went to Indigenous youth entering trades school — Dylan struggled to graduate high school, but thrived when he entered the trades. He studied at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and worked as a pipefitter in Fort McMurray. Weaving by Musqueam artist Debra Sparrow. “He had his Red Seal by the time he was 22,” Mary said. “He was 24 when he passed away, but he had a house, he had two vehicles, he had a son.”
She said she hopes that Dylan’s story can inspire other First Nations youth who are struggling with education — adding that a lot of people have the misconception that all Indigenous people get free schooling, which is not the case at all. Although many find success through university and college, she said, she wants youth to know that there are other possible paths. “Dylan isn’t here but through him others may find success,” said Mary. The Dylan French Memorial Scholarship is for any trade, from hairdressing, to culinary school, to welding. Logistics about the scholarship were not yet available at the time of print for this article, but more details will be available through Homalco First Nation.
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From left: Rob the Viking, Sophia Seward-Good, William Good and Aunalee Boyd-Good in the studio. Photo by Raymond Knight.
CREATING A COAST SALISH SYMPHONY WITH ROB THE VIKING By Aunalee Boyd-Good When my sister Sophia and I first embarked on a journey to create original music for our fashion company’s first major runway show, we didn’t realize how transformational it would become for our Coast Salish family. Ay Lelum - The Good House of Design made our debut at Vancouver Fashion Week in the spring of 2018. When we were told that we would need to provide original music to go with our collection, we happily accepted the challenge as a way to reconnect with our Snuneymuxw songs and language. Growing up, we both participated in choirs, music lessons, classical training, church singing and cultural event performances, so we figured this would be a good way explore our own music within our varying backgrounds. Our father William Good is an artist, performer and knowledge-keeper from the Snuneymuxw Hereditary Chief Family, so we had his own roster of songs to record with him. Our late grandmother Hazel Good was a 20 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
language teacher, so we had the desire to expand our scope of the Hul’q’umi’num’ language, and this fueled the creative process. So now, having decided we would incorporate our family Snuneymuxw songs into our final mix — much as we incorporate our Snuneymuxw artwork into the clothing — we weren’t quite sure how to proceed with production. During a planning meeting, it was our brother and feature artist, Joel, who casually said: “Well, go see Rob the Viking, he’s back in town.” Rob The Viking grew up on Gabriola Island and had come home to Nanaimo to set up a recording studio in the heart of the city. Being a multi-platinum and Juno award winning producer with Swollen Members and Madchild, this world-class producer humbly accepted our request. In a hidden-away studio dubbed “The Chamber,” the magical process of permanent historical documentation, Hul’q’umi’num’ language revitalization, research and the beauty of song began.
We have now worked with him on numerous songs. Since the beginning, each song has progressed in its complexity to becoming a modern-style Coast Salish symphony with Rob the Viking as our maestro. In his brilliant command of composition that honors all of the traditions set forth, including song, storytelling, language and cultural protocols, Rob the Viking has been the perfect fit as our brother foresaw. Songs are recorded in their entirety with different levels of harmonies and then remixed utilizing modern techniques, using traditional instruments, such as drums, rattles, shells, and others to create multiple layers and different elements of orchestral complexity. To honor our father’s teachings of the power of the sacred red cedar that he carves, you can often hear the sounds of the knife cutting through the wood incorporated into the beats, bringing the cedar to life in sound while it is recorded in the process of transforming into visual art itself. Creating visual art and music simultaneously is the most thrilling aspect of the months-long,
grueling process of creating a showcase for the runway for Ay Lelum. Once the beats drop at Vancouver Fashion Week and the garments are walked down the runway, modern storytelling begins. Artistic collaboration is not new to us at Ay Lelum, as a second-generation Coast Salish design house, we had watched our parents partner together, and partner with other creatives, growing up. There is a beauty and relevance to artistic collaboration, especially when cultures are blended in multimedia of this kind and this is a cornerstone of Ay Lelum production. A parallel process unfolds with the garment production, where we create in this process while we record our music. This form of modern collaboration provides proper historical documentation, as without it, the artwork would not be digitally documented, the songs would not be recorded, and this risks the story not being told. In the beginning, our younger family members were unfamiliar with our father’s songs, and since this musical collaboration, all of the generations of children know and sing their grandfather’s songs. This has proven to be a success, bridging the intergenerational gap so that the next generation has familiarity, upbeat positive memories and knowledge of art, song, and Hul’q’umi’num’ language. At the same time, the use of Hul’q’umi’num’ language at the recording studio evokes memory for our father, and as we often use neighboring dialects we had researched, our father is able to recall and teach us some of the Snuneymuxw dialect. The use of multiple dialects is being featured in our upcoming work we are created with Rob the Viking for Vancouver Fashion Week’s Spring 2020 showcase, where we deliberately incorporate three versions of the same word. This is a modern way to preserve culture, pass family history and song on to the next generation, as well as share with the community. With having eight songs remixed as part of our previous three showcases, our 2020 collections will bring us to around a dozen songs that we have created with Rob the Viking. The debut of our 2020 songs will launch at our Spring 2020 collection called Nan ch ‘uw’ nu stl’i’~I Love You/I Hold You Dear, being showcased at Vancouver Fashion Week on Oct. 12 at the David Lam Hall in Vancouver. In this showcase, we also feature music from our family group, Footprints of the Wolf, honoring three generations of women in the Good family who routinely perform together. Our full showcase will also be available to view on our website, www.aylelum.com and on our company Facebook page. Exploring modern musical media to share Coast Salish song, storytelling, art, language and culture has made us modern storytellers within our father’s teachings and guidance. This is all done with the respectful collaboration of others in the community, such as Rob the Viking, who has shared his expertise to be a part of Indigenous cultural revitalization in an honorable way, creating a new sound — a Coast Salish symphony. Hay cep qua! Aunalee Boyd-Good is a co-founder of Ay Lelum - The Good House of Design, a second-generation Coast Salish Design House from Snuneymuxw First Nation. She is a classically-trained vocalist, works as a Certified Optometric Assistant and holds a Bachelor in English from Vancouver Island University.
Strength Through Relationships
SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 21
LANGUAGE, CULTURE AT FOCUS OF NEW SNUNEYMUXW SCHOOL
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Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh School has opened in Cedar, B.C., for K-7 students
By Julie Chadwick An innovative new school that blends Snuneymuxw teachings with school district curriculum has opened its doors to K-7 students. The Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh School welcomed both Indigenous and nonIndigenous students in September with a focus on Hul’q’umi’num’ language, Snuneymuxw culture, and land-based teachings. The facility in Cedar, B.C., is the result of a partnership between the Snuneymuxw First Nation and School District 68. Its opening was the culmination of decades of negotiations between elders, school district administration, Snuneymuxw members and local school staff. During an event on August 30, Chief Michael Wyse said that though many Snuneymuxw members have gone on to significant academic success, as children they were required to attend school for a number of decades “in a makeshift facility squeezed between a railway and the main road of our community.” The nation’s new school models a form of co-governance between SFN and SD68 that is nothing less than a transformational form of education, he said, adding that it not only shares their story and honours a shared history, but also values the Snuneymuxw way of life. “This type of education will be carried by all students who attend this new school for the rest of their lives,” he said. “Together, we embark on a better way.” The completed $10.8 million state-of-theart modern building encompasses the design features of a longhouse, accommodates up to 70 children from Kindergarten to Grade 7, and delivers traditional teachings using the latest technology. The road to success was not always easy, said principal Kevin Brand, who delivered a speech at the opening in Hul’q’umi’num’ and also works at Qwam Qwum’s sister school Bayview Elementary. As concepts like reconciliation
gain traction, schools like Bayview have strived to incorporate Indigenous teachings into the classroom. However at its core, he said, the curriculum is still not wholly founded on the traditional ways of knowing that communities like Snuneymuxw hold. “That’s an uneasy tension, as somebody who knows the power of those teachings for our children and the sense of belonging and wholeness that those teachings create,” he said. What this new school represents then, is a call to go back to a different oundation — that of the ancestors. “We’re going all the way back to those values, as best as we can translate them, and recognizing that when we do that, we see abundance, we see beauty, we see community, we see wholeness, we see wellness,” Brand said. “The nation has waited a long time for this moment where we’re removing barriers, actively, as a school district and partnering in good ways with the BC Ministry of education to choose better, and go back to a foundation that does work for all students, including our First Nations learners.” The crystallization of the concept behind the school and its partnerships came in March of 2018. As workers broke ground on the property to begin construction, representatives from Snuneymuxw, senior school district management, school board trustees, members of CUPE, and the Nanaimo District Teacher’s Association traveled to observe an Indigenous choice school that had opened in Prince George. While sitting around a table together, SFN Councillor Emmy Manson said: “We are not broken. Don’t try to fix us” — a comment that Brand and others in attendance took to heart. Brand said the remark was not only a nod to the deficit-style thinking that has pervaded discussions around Indigenous school systems, SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 23
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Chief Michael Wyse.
Dozens of families, including some grandparents and their grandkids, took part in the intergenerational pairs race, which brought 40-and-older paddlers together SEA with under-sevens to compete. 24 • SALISH SENTINEL
Principal Kevin Brand.
but also a way of acknowledging that lower graduation rates among Indigenous students is an indication that it is the system that needs to change, not the children. “What’s actually broken is the system, the institution, the ways of doing education that doesn’t align with who we are. And bottled within that is all sorts of broken trust that has influenced communities — and rightfully so,” said Brand. “And how do you restore that? By consistently demonstrating respect and openness and having schools be better at reflecting the values of the community that we serve.” The foundational framework of the school and its curriculum can be found within the Hul’q’umi’num’ expression “syeyutsus,” which encompasses the idea of both living within the teachings of the land and Snuneymuxw people, while grappling with the complicated nature of modern society as it morphs and changes. For local mother Mikiala Morgan, the philosophy that underpins the new school and the resources it makes available represent significant opportunities for her eight-yearold son Zachary. “This is definitely a major upgrade, and once I saw it, I really wanted Zachary to be a part of it. I like that it’s really into our culture,” said Morgan. “It makes me feel better that he’s going to have it later on in life.” Another feature is the on-reserve location that can be walked to, she added. As a single mother, the in-house hot lunch program that features balanced meals also makes life easier. Chief Wyse said at the old school, which was not part of the school district, it was always tough to make ends meet. Now, he is optimistic that the school will create opportunities for children that have been missed in the past. “We’ve made a tremendous step collaborating our partnerships with School District 68 and having that availability of what other schools receive, to provide that education,” he said. “What’s of utmost importance to us is the curriculum, in providing our culture and our language to our children.” SALISH SEA SENTINEL • 25
Snuneymuxw member yutustanaat (Mandy Jones) is pictured at Hwsaaqw’um (Holland Creek) during the final stages of documenting for the Google Earth Voyager project. Photo by Brian Thom.
SNUNEYMUXW LANGUAGE KEEPER FEATURED BY GOOGLE EARTH Hul’q’umi’num’ audio clips spoken by yutustanaat (Mandy Jones) highlighted as part of new initiative
Yutustanaat (Mandy Jones) of Snuneymuxw First Nation is being featured by Google Earth as part of the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages. Google Earth’s “Celebrating Indigenous Languages” project was launched late this summer and showcases 55 Indigenous languages from 27 countries. As part of the initiative, yutustanaat was recorded speaking words, phrases, a proverb and songs in the Hul’q’umi’num’ language. Yutustanaat is a language teacher and involved students from Ladysmith Secondary School to record the audio clips. “Our language is very healing,” she said in a statement from Google. “It brings out caring in our people and helps our students be strong, because the language comes from the heart.” In one of the clips featured on Google Earth’s “Voyager” page, she speaks the Hul’q’umi’num’ greeting ‘I ch ‘o’ ‘uy’ ‘ul’ (how are you?). In another, she explains the scope of Hu’q’umi’num’, which is spoken in Coast Salish communities on Vancouver Island from Nanoose Bay to Mill Bay. Brian Thom, an anthropologist from the University of Victoria, worked with yutustanaat on the project. Thom has worked with Google Earth developers in the past, advising them on a new capacity to play audio clips earlier this year. The language initiative is part of the Google Earth Voyager series and incorporates
that new capability — allowing the user to click on pins on a world map to hear the Indigenous languages that are tied to different territories. For this project, Thom and the Ladysmith Secondary School students recorded “quite a bit” of tape, he said, including songs and stories. In the end, Google Earth Voyager featured three of them. “We actually had the kids ask Mandy the questions to elicit her answers in the language,” he said. “They all got together and sang a couple of songs in Hul’q’umi’num as part of the project.” Thom said the project is now moving towards its next iteration which he expects will involve the addition of more Indigenous languages from different communities in Canada and worldwide. Though it isn’t likely to turn into a comprehensive inventory of every Indigenous language, he said, it will educate countless people on what the languages are and what they sound like. “This is an awareness and solidarity building campaign,” he said. “It’s a real celebration of the languages.” People from communities or organizations who are interested in having their language profiled through the initiative can express interest by clicking on a form directly in Google Earth Voyager and filling it out. The “Celebrating Indigenous Languages” project is viewable at http://goo.gle/ indigenouslanguages and via the Google Earth App.
BLUE CABIN RESIDENCY HOSTS COAST SALISH WEAVERS Weavers will work in floating cabin in Vancouver’s False Creek neighbourhood as part of yearlong initiative Coast Salish weavers are making their temporary home in a floating seaside cabin as part of a yearlong art program in Vancouver. The Blue Cabin Floating Artist Residency involves five artists who will take turns working in a historic structure that was recently moved to the shores of False Creek from its previous location in North Vancouver. The weavers will take six-to-eight week residencies working in the cabin as a public studio, while living in a private structure that was built beside it. Chepximiya Siyam Janice George, a hereditary chief from Squamish Nation, will be taking her
residency in the cabin with her partner Willard Joseph from Feb. 15 to March 31.
Chepximiya Siyam Janice George at a book signing. File photo.
The couple, who is known for teaching and revitalizing Coast Salish weaving in their community, will be working and educating in the cabin while living in a private space that was built beside it. “Elders said to us: ‘You need to make it so that the next generation doesn’t know that there was a break in our culture,’” George said. “I thought that was so powerful. It’s a powerful way to live. I just love it. It’s been a whole life adventure to be able to do this and teach it and learn.” The Blue Cabin is a restored squatters cabin that was originally built in 1927. It was in
North Vancouver for 80 years, first used as a home for maritime labourers and their families, then being utilized as a studio by artists Al Neil and Carole Itter since the 1960s. It was slated for demolition in 2014 but saved by a consortium of arts organizations. It has since been revitalized and moved to its current location on a floating platform on the seawall near the Plaza of Nations. Artists who will stay in the blue cabin are: Vicki Couzens of Australia (Sept. 15 to Oct. 31), Angela George of Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (Nov. 15 to Jan. 15) and Debra Sparrow of Musqueam (Apr. 15 to May 31). Each residency will also begin with an eight-week research term, said Vanessa Kwan, a program director with grunt gallery, which is curating the project. “We wanted to work with artists from the local nations and weaving seemed to be a really incredible foundation of practice,” she said. “I mean, it literally interweaves disparate threads but then also it is related to cultural protocol and, in some respects, laws and constitutions.” Kwan said program leaders wanted to focus on Coast Salish weavers from the local nations, and decided to also include an international scope by partnering with the Australia Council for the Arts. George said having the opportunity to work in the cabin has added meaning for her, since her ancestor and namesake Chepxim Siyam lived in the same area, and it was known as a good place to fish and hunt. “It just means so much for me to be here and to be on the water,” she said. “Just to be here and stay here, I feel like I’m going to have really good dreams.” The Blue Cabin Floating Art Residency is expected to move to various location after its stint in False Creek. More information about the blue cabin is available at www.thebluecabin.ca.
Chief Janice George (left) and Willard Joseph (right) pose with their niece, Taylor McCarthy. George and Joseph will doing an artist residency at the Blue Cabin early next year. File photo.
STUDENTS GAIN SKILLS WITH TFN SUMMER CAREER PLACEMENTS Submitted by TFN Education and Skills Development The Tsawwassen First Nation’s Education and Skills Development Department was busy this summer running a career placement program for students ages 13 to 25. The program was designed for to bring awareness to all the possible jobs and careers that TFN has to offer, while offering work experience in those areas. We offered a variety of positions based on the students’ career goals and gave the youth guidance and support in their individual job placements. 30 • SALISH SEA SENTINEL
In total, we had 17 youth working with TFN this summer, giving them a full schedule of learning and working in their new positions. We had students working in the following positions; Daycare worker, Elders worker, Administrative Assistants, IT, Fisheries and Natural Resources, Youth worker, Bylaw and Compliance, Archaeology, Lands Assistant, Public Works and Communications. The TFN Managers and supervisors were very supportive of the youth, helping to ensure a successful outcome for them over the summer. We also included cultural learning, offering a carving class once with a week with TFN artist
Karl Morgan. Finally, the youth participated in a few leadership training outings and programs with the TFN Youth Centre, where they learned life skills such as boat safety and firearms safety. These summer student positions provide youth with the opportunity to build meaningful work experience, increase their skills, gain workplace insight and help prepare them for the future. Our youth are the future of TFN and we are committed to helping them grow to be successful, contributing adults.
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