April 2015

Volume 11 • Issue 03 APRIL, 2015

OUR FOODS SPECIAL FEATURE ON WHAT FEEDS US PAGE 6-9

BUILDINGS RISING PAGE 4

SCULPTURE UNVEILING PAGE 10

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SALISH SEA SENTINEL 1

NAUT’SA MAWT TRIBAL COUNCIL NATIONS1. HALALT (250) 246-4736 [email protected] www.halalt.org2. HOMALCO (250) 923-4979 [email protected]. KLAHOOSE Qathen Xwegus Management Corp (250) 935-6536 www.klahoose.com4. MALAHAT (250) 743-3231 [email protected] www.malahatnation.com5. SLIAMMON (604) 483-9646 [email protected] www.sliammonfirstnation.com www.sliammontreaty.com6. SNAW-NAW-AS (Nanoose) (250) 390-3661 [email protected] [email protected] www.nanoose.org7. SNUNEYMUXW (Nanaimo) (250) 740-2300 [email protected] www.snuneymuxw.ca8. STZ’UMINUS (Ladysmith) (250) 245-7155 [email protected] www.stzuminus.com9. TSAWWASSEN (604) 948-5219 [email protected] www.tsawwassenfirstnation.com10. TSLEIL-WAUTUTH (604) 929-3454 [email protected] www.twnation.ca11. T’SOU-KE (Sooke) (250) 642-3957 [email protected] www.tsoukenation.com

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COVER PHOTO: Grace Edwards (left) and her mother Mary Lou prepared a salmon for the feast at Snaw-naw-as. See more on Pages 6-7. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

JUST WHO ARE THE TERRORISTS?

As if we hadn’t enough to worry about, Bill C-51 comes along to complicate things.

The fact that two months ago over 80 per cent of Canadians largely supported the government’s new anti-terrorist bill makes the legislation even more dis-turbing. And it makes us wonder wheth-er the Idle No More demonstrations 15 months ago or the ongoing demonstra-tions against the Kinder Morgan pipe-line expansion suddenly marks many of us as ‘terrorists’.

Are the Tsleil-Waututh in canoes in Burrard Inlet terrorists? How about the T’Sou-ke people holding a summit on marine risks? Or the Stz’uminus block-ading commercial geoduck harvesting? Or Halalt or Snaw-naw-as blockading the road through their reserve lands?

These worries arise because of an in-ternal RCMP report titled ‘Criminal Threats to the Canadian Petroleum In-dustry’ that said the “anti-petroleum” movement was a growing violent threat to Canada’s security. The report said the movement “jeopardizes the health and safety of its participants, the general public and the natural environment.”

Well, it’s nice to know the RCMP is so concerned about the natural environ-ment. But as the rhetoric heats up over fossil fuels around the Salish Sea, as well as Bill C-51, actions will be taken on all sides. We can only hope that the true ter-rorists in the debate will be identified.

OPINION

Stz'uminus Idle No More Dec 31, 2012

2 SALISH SEA SENTINEL

cultural tours” said Shawn O’Connor, the tours manager. The new journeys to the ancestral lands of the Homalco people will include singing, drumming and dancing, celebrating culture and traditions.

The new tours will make use of the in-formation centre near the bear viewing towers on ther Orford River in Bute Inlet.

Official launch will take place this June and the cultural tours will run until the bear season begins in August. Training for staff starts in mid-April.

O’Conner said that pride and honour is evident in the trained guides through pre-vious training thanks to customer service experts at London Drugs. That company operates the nearby resort on Sonora Is-land whose clients are regular visitors to bears of Bute.

WINNERS ARE READING ELSIE PAUL’S BOOKEleven readers of the Salish Sea Sentinel are reading the words of Elsie Paul this month.

They were winners in a contest in the February issue. Their prize was a copy

of Elsie’s book Written As I Re-member It: Teach-ings (ʔəms tɑʔɑw) from the life of a Sliammon Elder.

Book winners were from around

the Salish Sea and included: Roger Smith - Lantzville; Sandra Tom – Powell River; Amritpal Singh Dhillon – Victoria; Chad Harris – Ladysmith; Karen Whitehouse – Duncan; Sara Malloway – Deroche; D. Cowie – Tsawwassen; Anne Walsh – Vancouver; Arlene Hope – Cortes Island; Tracy White – Nanaimo; and Kerry McKellar – Quadra Island.

LEAH CALLED TO THE BARA posting on Twitter said it all. “Leah, official call to the bar! #XwelmexwSleney”

That was Leah George-Wilson’s way of announcing that she is now, offi-cially, a practic-ing lawyer in BC. The call to the bar was a final step in a journey through law school at Uni-

versity of British Columbia.The former three-term chief of Tsleil-

Waututh Nation is currently the public speaker on behalf of her nation on re-source issues. Last year she spoke before the National Energy Board hearings on the proposed expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

She has been a member of the TWN ne-gotiating team since 1995 and helped build the treaty, lands and resources department since being appointed director in 2001.

GALLIGOS IS SLOVENIA BOUND WITH HIS TOTEMWhen Craig Galligos of Sliammon was working on the totem for Powell River’s Kathaumixw choral festival last summer, travel plans were in the back of his mind.

That’s because he was going to accom-pany the pole when it was delivered to the ‘choir of the world’ named during the fes-tival’s closing ceremonies. It could have been awarded to a choir from Kenya, Rus-sia, the USA or even Abbotsford, BC.

The winning choir was from the St. Stanislav Academy from Ljubljana, Slovenia, a country on the north Adriatic Sea bordering Italy and Austria.

Galligos, along with people from Powell River and possibly a Sliam-mon group, will travel with the pole to Slovenia in May.

K at hau m i x w is a Sliammon

word, meaning “many nations coming together.” Galligos told The Sentinel last year that his design for the six-and-one-half-foot pole was meant to represent both First Nations and Canadian imagery.

A bronze-eyed beaver gnawing on a piece of wood is carved into the bottom of the pole, while at the top is an eagle.

POLITICS GOES COAST SALISHBill Yoachim of Snuneymuxw was elected to Nanaimo city council last year. At the same time, Natasha Bob of Snaw-naw-as was elected to her area’s school board.

Now others with connections to Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council nations are dipping their toes into politics. North Vancou-ver federal NDP members have selected Carleen

Thomas, a long-time Tsleil-Waututh Nation councillor and an anti-pipeline activist, to run in this fall’s election.

And further north on the Salish Sea, Rachel Blaney, whose husband Darren is a Homalco councillor, is running for the NDP in the North Island-Powell River riding.

Thomas has been a TWN councillor for 16 years and currently works for the Sacred Trust Initiative that was created to voice her nation’s opposition to the Kind-er Morgan pipeline expansion.

She was named one of Vancouver’s Re-markable Women in 2014. On a commer-ative poster were the words: “Constantly on the road talking to any who will listen, Carleen honours the responsibility of ab-original people to protect sacred mother earth for future generations.”

YOU WANT WILDLIFE? THEN HEAD TO BUTEHomalco Wildlife Tours is expanding from its popular ‘Bears of Bute’ excur-sions in late summer to a spring and summer program.

“We are expanding our very successful wildlife tours into the summer focusing on

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THE CULTURE OF THE CANOEBy Tricia ThomasCanoe racing season is approaching. Pullers, or paddlers, have begun to focus on their vigorous training regimes. They can be seen daily, often in early mornings or at the end of the longer days of Spring, training on land and on the Salish Sea.

In Coast Salish communities along the coast, canoe races attract thousands of spectators each weekend from May until September. The season starts in Nook-sack, Washington, on May 9-10 and will carry on until the end of August.

If you are a part of the canoe culture, then you understand the power behind

the races. Being a canoe puller means more than just being an athlete. It is an honour that demands commitment to a clean lifestyle, a clear mind and posi-tive energy. It is a physical, spiritual and emotional battle that involves the indi-vidual, the team, and the community that the canoe represents.

Racing canoes are lighter and more slender than the canoes traditionally used for hunting and transportation. Much skill and strength are needed to pull to-gether as one and to avoid capsizing the narrow canoes.

The tradition of the canoe races gives participants a chance to connect with the land and sea, Coast Salish culture, friends and relations and to enjoy songs and food.

CANOE RACING SCHEDULE 2015

MAY 9-10 Nooksack, near Lynden, WA16 Coupeville/Penn Cove, WA23-24 Skwah, Chilliwack Landing 30-31 Seabird Island, near Agassiz

JUNE6-7 Cultus Lake, near Chilliwack13-14 Lummi Stommish, near Bellingham, WA19-21 Cowichan Tribes, Cowichan Bay20-21 Scowlitz, near Harrison Mills27-28 Harrison Hot Springs

JULY4-5 Ambleside, West Vancouver11-12 Whey-ah-Wichen (Cates Park), North Vancouver 18-19 Kulleet Bay, Stz’uminus, Ladysmith 25-26 Tsartlip, Saanich

AUGUST1-2 Tulalip Tribes, near Marysville, WA1-2 Tsawout, Saanich *tentative*8-9 Swinomish, near La Conner, WA15-16 Chief Seattle Days, Suquamish 22-23 Songhees, Victoria29-30 Makah Day, Neah Bay, WA


BUILDING THE FUTURE

Some major building projects are underway among Coast Salish First Nations. Buildings are taking shape, ground is being broken and archi-tect’s plans are being studied.

In early March, there was a groundbreaking ceremony at Sliammon for the Tla’amin Gov-ernance House. Work starts this summer on a recently cleared parcel at the junction of Klah-anie Road and the Sunshine Coast Highway. The building will be a centrepiece as the Tla’amin treaty effective date in April 2016 draws closer.

Meanwhile at Tsleil-Waututh Nation, the membership is having its first look at plans for a new administration and health complex. The 25,000 square foot building will house the health centre, offices for all departments and will serve as a community-gathering centre.

Malahat Nation is looking ahead to a ground-breaking this spring for its new health centre.

And, on the waterfront at Snuneymuxw, residents are beginning to see the final shape of a structure that will have a gymnasium, multi-purpose room, a commercial kitchen and the new space for the Tuytaxun general store.

TLA’AMIN GOVERNANCE

HOUSE

TSLEIL-WAUTUTH HEALTH COMPLEX

WATERFRONT AT SNUNEYMUXW

BUILDINGS ARE RISING IN OUR NATIONS

Work on the Snunewymuxw project is an attraction for school children

The Tsleil-Waututh complex will be for a variety of uses

The groundbreaking ceremony at Sliammon

A rendering of the Tla'amin Governance House



NANAIMO HARBOUR ‘JEWEL’ HAS A NEW GLEAM

Everywhere you walk on Newcastle Island, there are the footsteps of our Snuneymuxw ancestors. The island was much used for the foods that it provided our people.

Those were the words from a 2007 brochure welcoming visitors from around the world to Saysutshun or Newcastle Island, the 336-hectare provincial park under management of Snuneymuxw First Nation. The island has been an escape for boaters, hikers and campers for most of the past century.

Now it’s about to get a major boost, thanks to a two per cent municipal and regional tax. Snuneymuxw is in the process of hir-ing fulltime workers and inviting the community’s artists, crafts-people, dancers and even yoga teachers to get involved.

Chief John Wesley is upbeat about the possibilities. “As a nation with our own world class tourist destination at Newcastle Island, we are pleased that our partners in Nanaimo have secured this strategic investment in tourism for all our communities.

“We have a strong partnership and will continue to make great progress working together as we confirm the plan forward to sup-port our Nation’s vision for tourism and cultural experiences."

Au’ si:em siyeyuIn our language, Au’ si:em siyeyu, is our form

of welcome for honoured friend.

From the shore of Newcastle Island, the city of Nanaimo

APRIL 15-16Environmental Stewardship Seminar land use planning session, arranged on behalf of AANDC by NmTC. Delta Vancouver Suites, 550 West Hastings. Go to nmtcevents.com for more info.

APRIL 25Unveiling ceremony for Stz’uminus carver Luke Marston’s Shore to Shore monument at Brockton Oval in Stanley Park, Vancouver at 2 p.m. Reception at the Musqueam Cultural Centre from 5:30-9 p.m.

APRIL 30NmTC Housing Network members workshop will cover Housing as a Business and Interim Shelter Agreements. Vancouver, Coast Plaza Hotel, 1763 Comox Street. Go to nmtcevents.com for more info.

MAY 9-10Canoe racing season begins at Nooksack Indian Tribe, near Lynden, WA. See story in this issue.

SALISH SEA CALENDAR

WANT TO WRITE ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY?We need someone like you to help tell our stories.Take a look at our web site—salishseasentinel.ca—and tell us what stories you would like to see and how you can help make them happen. Then write to: [email protected]


OUR TRADITIONAL FOODS

Snaw-naw-as and Homalco communities challenged their youth to learn about the traditional foods of their ancestors. And youth responded when the first part of the

challenge took place on the shores of Nanoose Bay in early March.Three weeks later, the challenge was revived at Homalco as

the young people continued to identify, collect, prepare and, of course, eat.

“Learning how to survive though traditional food knowledge will stay with you for the rest of your life,” Snaw-naw-as elder Doreen Sport said as she shared her teachings about how food from the land has nourished us throughout time.

Christopher Bob demonstrated how to cut and prepare salmon for roasting over the fire using cedar and ironwood, while his nephews, Walker and Damion, prepared a pit cook for clams and oysters at the beach.

After the demonstration, youth were challenged to pick up a fillet knife and prepare salmon for the fire on their own. They worked together in groups and were observed by elders Doreen Edwards, Annie and Jim Bob and Barbara Barltrop. The groups were presented awards for their efforts.

Everyone walked to the bay with their prepared fish where Christopher continued to show the youth how to cook the salm-

on over the fire. He talked about how to prepare the fire and de-scribed some cooking techniques.

When the pit cook was ready, clams, oysters, carrots and potatoes were wrapped in salal and ferns and roasted underground.

The result? Delicious! The second part of the challenge took place in Homalco ter-

ritory on March 21. Youth participated in the Walk Away From Racism in the morning and enjoyed a traditional seafood lunch. Later they participated in sports skills testing and painting pad-dles with Homalco councillor Darren Blaney. The day ended with youth presentations on their knowledge of traditional foods.

YOUTH TAKE ON TRADITIONAL FOODS CHALLENGE

PROJECT AIMS TO HELP YOUTH INCREASE THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF TRADITIONAL DIETS AND CREATE A HEALTHIER, MORE SELF-RELIANT FUTURE.

Words and photos by Tricia Thomas

Chief David Bob (seated) joined elders and others for a feast on the waterfront



IN PRAISE OF BLUE CAMAS

The blue camas lily—camassia—grows from a bulb that flowers from late April to mid-May. This

native plant often escapes notice because its main habitat around the Salish Sea is the Garry oak ecosystem, an environment that is rapidly disappearing because of development.

But these aren’t just pretty flowers. The cooked bulbs were a vital source of car-bohydrate (sugar) for our Coast Salish ances-tors. Families had areas where they tended and harvested the bulbs af-ter flowering.

After flowering, bulbs were dug up and pre-pared by steaming in pits to produce a sweet mash that could be used in all kinds of cooking. Camas bed maintenance was usually a women’s work. A digging stick made from ironwood or other hard wood would be used to gather bulbs, often as much as 2,000 kilograms in a season. Care was taken not to harvest any white camas, also called Death camas, which are highly poisonous when eaten.

The bulbs were important trading items between coastal and interior peo-ples, traded for other foods such as cran-berries and blueberries.

Digging sticks

Christopher Bob (top left) prepares the salmon on sticks for cooking

Youth from two nations on the beach at Nanoose Bay



For the Coast Salish people, the traditional season of the herring roe harvest begins late February and early March. The Hul’qumi’num word for the herring eggs is tsum’ush.

In specific areas around the Salish Sea, cedar or hemlock branch-es are placed in the water to gather the herring spawn. Along the shorelines, the sticky eggs naturally collect on seaweed and kelp which makes it easy for harvesting off the beaches.

After collecting the spawn on the branches, it is brought home and hung up to dry. When the roe easily comes away from the branches, it is removed and left to dry some more before being stored away.

Michelle Antoine from Halalt First Nation (see photo) recalls: “When I was a kid, I remember going to the beach to see all the cedar boughs people put out for herring season and I couldn't wait to eat the eggs! I remember having big feasts around my late Gran’s table—a tradition I now share with my kids.”

Herring roe on kelp were dried and the kelp were laid flat on top of each other, tied and stored in a box. Today the roe is often stored in the freezer.

This nutritious spring food can be eaten fresh, dried or rehy-drated and cooked. It was traditionally served with salmonberry shoots and provided a good source of vitamin D after the dark winter. Herring roe is still featured at feasts and special occasions and often served with salmon, halibut and other seafood. It is delicious as a crunchy side dish or added to soups.

TSUM’USH means ‘delicious’

Stz'uminus herring egg fishers circa 1998 Michelle Antoine enjoys herring roe


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Oysters will soon be harvested again from Sooke Basin, the waters off the main T’Sou-ke First Nation reserve.

T’Sou-ke recently entered into a joint project agreement with the Chinese Canadian Aboriginal Development Enterprise. Instead of seeding oysters along the shoreline, the shellfish will be farmed sub-tidally, using long-lines in the basin. Long-line oysters are hung in the water from line columns that are sunk five meters below the surface, allowing boats to pass over without interference.

According to project coordinator Andrew Moore, T’Sou-ke has attracted the investment from China and plans to expand its aquaculture operations to include sea cucumbers. It’s all part of the four pillars of the nation’s vision—energy and food security, cultural renaissance and economic self-sufficiency.

The loss of shellfish harvesting has left a huge gap in maintain-ing the T’Sou-ke traditional food practices. There are issues with sewage outfall and, Moore said, the town of Sooke doesn’t have the funds to redirect drainage away from the Sooke River and basin.

He said T’Sou-ke is looking at devel-oping its own treatment plant on-re-serve that its neighbours could tap into to reduce seepage from old septic fields that finds its way into the harbour.

OYSTER HARVEST returns to T’Sou-ke

Dropping the lines with seeds into the harbour Preparing the seeds for suspension in the harbour

Oyster seeds

By Tricia Thomas


ARTISTS AT WORK

Luke Marston with his Shore to Shore sculpture in Stanley Park. Photo by Wawmeesh G. Hamilton

Luke carves a yellow cedar figure for the sculpture at his Kulleet Bay workshop two years ago

SHORE TO SHORE UNVEILING THIS MONTHYears of work by Stz’uminus carver Luke Marston will be revealed on April 25 when his bronze sculpture—Shore to Shore—is unveiled in Stanley Park.

The work celebrates the connections of Portuguese adventurer Joe Silvey and his first and second Coast Salish wives, Khal-tinaht and Kwatleemaat. Marston is the great great grandson of Portuguese Joe and Kwatleemaat.

Portuguese Joe and his wives return to Stanley Park in the form of three life-sized human figures facing outward, surround-ed by the fins of a 14-foot traditional cod lure. The setting is fitting, Marston said in a recent Facebook posting.

Marston carved pieces of the sculpture from yellow cedar at his Kulleet Bay work-shop before sending them to a foundry last year for casting in bronze.

“My dear friends and family following the unveiling of the Shore to Shore monu-ment the reception will be held at the Mus-queam Cultural Centre… I feel it's fitting considering this is where Joe met pkultinat and was greeted and welcomed with open arms from the great chief Kiapilano.”


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Chief John Elliott introduced children at Stz’uminus to geoduck. He told them about the important and valuable clam that grows in the waters around Kulleet Bay. Photos courtesy of Chad Harris

Dean Harry, left, and Chief Michael Harry with the plans for the waterfront site.

MALAHAT MARINE DEVELOPMENT FOR A GROWING NATIONMalahat First Nation’s marine development plan took an-other step forward on March 18 when the Cowichan Valley Regional District held a public hearing on the proposal.

Chief Michael Harry talked about the waterfront com-plex and said the driving force behind it was the fact that Malahat people want to come home and participate more in their community. That’s why he and his council are fo-cused on building the nation’s economy and creating jobs, especially for younger people.

In addition to building the boat launch, café, gallery and other facilities, Malahat is planning to build 26 new homes by 2020 to house its growing population.

It was all smiles at Snuneymuxw First Nation when Chief John Wesley introduced Ken Cossey, the new executive director, to senior staff. He was previously director of local government services at Songhees First Nation.

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SELF-GOVERNANCE EXPLORED AT WORKSHOP“Think big!” and “Remember who you are”.

Those were two key messages to delegates from Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council nations who attended a three-day Exploring Self-Government workshop in Nanaimo in early March.

The advice to think big came from Kim Baird. She is the former Tsawwassen First Nation chief who saw BC’s first urban treaty implemented at her nation in 2009. The ‘remember’ advice came from Gwen Phillips of Ktunaxa Nation.

Those two along with Chris Derickson, a Westbank First Nation councillor, headed a spirited panel discussion about ‘Knowing where you want to go’ on day two of the event. They later facili-tated small group discussions as delegates sat with them, rolled up their sleeves and talked about the many issues involved in moving from the Indian Act to self-governance.

Derickson stressed the importance of meandingful and continu-ous community engagement. And Phillips said: “Don’t forget who you are and where you came from…and work traditional values and principles into the self-governance model.”

More great advice came from Regional Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould and Dr. Tim Raybould who talked about the BC Assembly of First Nation’s governance toolkit.

Leaders from many nations spoke with Chris Derickson

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April 2015

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