Filling Up the Land with Pilalt: Countering the British Columbia Referrals Process and Reclaiming Stolo Ways of Being on Land
Date
2017-06-05
Authors
Tomkins, Erin
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
George Manuel, renowned Secwepemc leader, once said, “I would rather hand over to
my children the dignity of the struggle than to sign a deal they cannot live with.” This
quotation can be found posted all around the Cheam council office where I spent many
hours working. Over the months I spent a lot of time thinking about this statement and
came to see it as a perfect articulation of the issue that defines contemporary Indigenous
struggles against colonialism. Within his simple statement Manuel asks, what does it
mean to “live”? More specifically, he asks an Indigenous audience, what does it mean to
live as an Indigenous person? The question in my mind that flows from this is one for all
of us, both Indigenous and non-indigenous: what kind of life are you fighting for?
Description
Keywords
Cheam, leader, council, colonialism, indigenous, First Nation, community, elder, identity, colonization, aboriginal, rights, settler, crown, Treaty Commission, territories