Envisioning Reconciliation at Community Level
Archival Voices and Sources
Source: 1875 (September) Letter to Mr. Lenihan from Chief Alexis of Cheam in A Stó:lō-Coast Salish Historical Atlas, 174.
[Excerpt]
“We have heard that you propose visiting our camps: if such be your intention, as we sincerely hope it is, we would like to know the time of your intended visit in order to unite our people who are now a little dispersed as they are working for the whites.”
Source: Library and Archives Canada. RG 10, Reel C-10103, Volume 3596, File 1241. “Report of J.W. Powell (Superintendent for British Columbia) on various tribes in British Columbia; including a schedule of reserve and leases. 1873.”
[Excerpt]
“The policy of the late Colonial Government _______ Governor Douglas in 1858 was to treat Indians as British subjects and it had the effect in a great erasure[?] of doing away with their customary internal organization...
Should the line of succession fail or succeeding heir not have any of the qualities appertaining to a Chief the whole Tribe assembles and elects a man of their choice to assume that dignity. Chieftship is generally maintained by a system of free _________ or “Potlaches’ and the more a Chief can ________ a “potlatch” the greater his power and popularity. To accumulate food, blankets, _______ for this purpose, a chief will often not only deprive himself of the necessaries of life, but allow his family to suffer from want, practising meantime, the most rigid and miserly ___________.
The customs of holding the free gift festivals, is quite common among the Coast Tribes, the presents generally consist of Blankets purchased for the reason or preserved from former “potlatches” and it is expected that they will be returned by some equivalent at a future gathering. The person who gives away or _____ destroyed the greatest amount of property, acquires much praise and frequently obtains the highest tribal rank.”
Contemporary Stó:lō Voices from Social Media
George, Gabriel [no bio provided]
Souce: George, G. [edgegeo] (2016, Sept 30). [Tweet] Retrieved from https://twitter.com/edgegeo/status/781958728379535360
“#wabkinew on reconciliation; The most important reconciliation is between our own generations. This speaks deeply to me as a father.”
Contemporary Non-Stó:lō Indigenous Voices from Social Media
Kinew, Wab
Leader of the Manitoba NDP Party, Honourary Witness for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and author of The Reason You Walk. He is from the Onigaming First Nation, in Northwestern Ontario. Kinew is an influential figure on social media in regards to the conversation on reconciliation in Canada. He speaks about reconciliation as a personal process as well as the reification of Indigenous nationhood and equality for Indigenous communities.
[Excerpt]
"Reconciliation is not something realized on a grand level, something that happens when a prime minister and a national chief shake hands. It takes place at a much more individual level. Reconciliation is realized when two people come together and understand that what they share unites them and that what is different between them needs to be respected." - Wab Kinew, The Reason You Walk.” (para 8)
Source: CBC Radio. (2015, Sept 27). Wab Kinew reveals joy and pain of reconciliation in The Reason You Walk. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/buffy-sainte-marie-wab-kinew-and-how-dna-remembers-trauma-1.3242375/wab-kinew-reveals-joy-and-pain-of-reconciliation-in-the-reason-you-walk-1.3243687
“#Reconciliation events in the community are essential to raise awareness and show community support. It sounds simple, but the act of gathering and sharing our stories has the potential to join us all in creating a new way forward: https://bit.ly/2xnbrez”
Source: Reconciliation Canada [Rec_Can] (2019, Jan 29). [Tweet] Retrieved from https://twitter.com/Rec_Can/status/1090278591332528128