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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE August 27, 2007
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| May 19, 2007 |
Vancouver, Canada – Land Rights: St’at’imc Nation’s Fight Against Destructive Tourism |
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| Spokesperson for Lil’Wat Rosalin Sam |
Vancouver, Canada – Land Rights: St’at’imc Nation’s Fight Against Destructive Tourism
The St’at’imc Nation describes their history as being written upon the land. Traditionally, the Lil’wat, a community within the St’at’imc Nation had an oral history with knowledge handed down using two kinds of storytelling, “sko-kwal” (true stories) and “shpi-tak-withl” (legends). Both were told with reference to place names where the events had occurred – in their sacred territory. With a culture so deeply entwined with sacred land, it is understandable they will not stay quiet when that land is threatened to be taken from them – and be turned into a ski resort. |
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| Participants listen to Ms. Sam’s talk about the proposed ski resort at the Peace Camp |
The struggle for land rights and human rights is ongoing between the indigenous peoples and the Canadian government. Since the first colonials came to claim the land and its resources in the 1850s, succeeding governments have only sought to assimilate and eventually erase First Nations peoples – whether through restricting them to reservations, spreading smallpox epidemics or imprisoning their children in the residential boarding school systems. |
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| Sutikalh Peace Camp |
First Nation identity can only be reaffirmed by bringing back local rulings, songs, dances, language and traditional culture. But without the ancient land to exist on as a nation, this would be impossible. A few decades ago when Whistler was being developed into a ski resort town, many First Nation communities opposed these developments. To appease them they were promised jobs, training, entrepreneur opportunities – these promises never eventuated and many trained and qualified Lil’wat people could only find work as janitors, if at all. |
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| Hubie shows participants around the camp site |
At Melvin Creek, north of Whistler, British Columbia lives Hubie, a Lil’wat resident of the Sutikalh Peace Camp. Without this Peace Camp obstructing the ski resort development, this site would have been turned into a four star hotel and resort long ago. Using nonviolent protesting, Hubie has been living here for 7 years, living off the land the traditional way eating vegetation surrounding his camp, catching fish and accepting food from visiting passersby. Hubie showed Peace Boat participants around the Peace Camp site including his vegetable garden and explained how different plants can be used for medicinal purposes. |
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| James (second right) shares his personal story and his fight for First Nations' rights |
Participants had a chance to homestay and camp on a First Nations reserve overnight. Around a campfire that night some neighbors came and told some personal accounts about their fight to retain their cultural identity and land. James of the Lil’wat says, “in 1975 we went to other territories to support other nations but they put us in jail. Again in 1990 they told us we had no jurisdiction and sent us to jail because we said this is our land. I was sent to residential school where I would lose my culture and language. I learned at residential school that to go to court using their law and their lawyers is a losing battle. So we are taking this to the international courts.” |
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| Homestay host, Alvin Nelson, shows participants some archery skills |
“So today I do not go to the violators to acknowledge my rights, I go to the world to see if there is an unbiased way to get Canada to the table. I have three international lawyers to take this dispute over land rights to the United Nations tribunal; it has taken me 27 years to do this. Maybe you can understand when I say I am not free as I can be as I live under the Canadian government. Until Canada recognizes us as a nation we are not free, we are forced to live on a reserve, like a jail with invisible walls.” |
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| Participants wander around the Melvin Creek Reserve |
Despite protests from the coalition of Canadian First Nations communities, indigenous peoples and environmental groups from around the world, the Nancy Greene-Raine Resort Consultants (NGR Inc) still plan to go ahead with the construction of the Cayoosh ski resort with a 4,500 bed hotel complex in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. With support from corporations such as Delta, Intrawest Hotels and Japan Cable, they say it is an opportunity to boost the tourism industry, it will create jobs - The Lil’wat people have heard these empty promises before. “It doesn’t make any sense to destroy and claim more of our sacred land for an 18 day event.” Says Elmer, from the Lil’wat community. |
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