As the upcoming second annual Indigenous Peoples Weekend will demonstrate, First Nations presence on the Gulf Islands is vibrant and very much alive.
More than 20 different arts, culture and community-building events are planned mainly for Salt Spring Island from June 20 to 22, but with others taking place on Pender, Galiano and Saturna islands.
Things kick off with an opening ceremony and teepee raising on the lawn at ArtSpring on Friday, June 20 at 1 p.m., with Metis Elder Bruce Dumont among the speakers. Further cultural events will take place there that afternoon and on Saturday. The United Church Meadow, Centennial Park, Mahon Hall, library and Mateada are among other major activity sites.
Basic information is available on our What’s On calendar on page 8, but more details and the latest schedule of events are available on the gulfislandevents.com site. To volunteer, billet a visitor, provide financial support or get more information, contact Jon at indigenouspeoplesweekend@gmail.com.
Indigenous Peoples Weekend follows the recent launch of a fundraising campaign to help the Tsawout First Nation purchase a 2.17-acre parcel of land next to its reserve on the south end of Salt Spring Island. As of June 16 the SȾÁUTW̱ (Tsawout) Land Back Campaign had raised $254,947 of the $600,000 needed to cover the costs. The Salt Spring Island Foundation is collecting funds and issuing tax receipts, and has also contributed $50,000 to the total.
Those attending the June 3 launch event heard how the path to the purchase really started through discussions between Salt Spring resident Briony Penn and nation members who talked about wanting to spend time on their reserve but had nowhere to stay in order to do that.
“So not being able to come and visit this reserve and not being able to stay here seemed to me one of the biggest things that we could do as our first step to Land Back. So I’m hoping that we can continue to [work together] so that elders can come and stay here and relax and get their health back,” said Penn.
She and others pointed out how helping with the purchase is a way to thank the SȾÁUTW̱ for allowing public access to the trails and beaches on their 50-acre reserve for so many years.
People can donate to the campaign through the ssifoundation.ca website, or phone executive director Shannon Cowan at 250-537-8305.
The Land Back subject also arose when Penelakut Tribe council member Kurt Irwin was the guest speaker at the June 12 annual general meeting of Restorative Justice Salt Spring Island. Irwin told the group that one area of focus for the First Nation is acquiring a piece of land on Salt Spring, the northern half of which is part of their core traditional territory.
Land is desired primarily in order to create a burial spot for the remains of their ancestors that continue to be found on and around Salt Spring Island, and to facilitate economic opportunity for the band, he said.
Irwin organized a visit by Penelakut Tribe elders and members to a Truth and Reconciliation Day event in Fernwood on Sept. 30 last year, which he said will take place again this September. He also facilitated a recent gathering of parties with interests in an application to control erosion on Baker Beach, noting that the Penelakut have shellfish harvesting rights in the area that no one considered.
Each local government body should have an “action plan” when it comes to dealing with First Nations issues, he stressed.
In addition to having use of part of Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park at Xwaaqw’um, the Quw’utsun people have been able to purchase a 10-acre parcel nearby. For more about that effort, visit stqeeye.ca/land.