BY SSI FARMLAND TRUST
The Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust is putting on a free screening of the documentary Tea Creek, which tells the story of Indigenous food sovereignty activist Jacob Beaton.
In three short years, Beaton has transformed his family farm into Tea Creek, an Indigenous food sovereignty training centre near the village of Kitwanga in northwestern B.C., with a mission to revive the abundance that once defined Turtle Island, the Indigenous name for North America.
The film shows how Indigenous expertise historically outperformed colonial agriculture practices, until that knowledge was erased by colonial systems and residential schools. But it also shows how Beaton is reintegrating traditional agricultural knowledge with his vision for change, healing and abundance.
The free screening will be held at Mahon Hall on Saturday, March 21. Doors open at 1:30 p.m., with the film starting at 2 p.m., followed by an Indigenous panel discussion featuring Kurt Irwin, Spune’luxutth’ (Penelakut) councillor and fisherman, along with Ken Thomas, Spune’luxutth’ head of fisheries, wildlife and natural resources, to talk about marine foods, and Farmland Trust board member Paz Q. Rainville (Métis), to talk about farming on Salt Spring.
Seating is limited, so people should reserve a spot now at storymoneyimpact.com/saltspring, where a film trailer can also be seen, or contact the Farmland Trust.