Kudos & Letters
Athletic prowess and missing pieces
We welcome feedback from our readers. Letters may be edited for length. Letters can be sent to isabelle@prliving.ca, faxed to 604.485.8381, or by post to Powell River Living, 7053E Glacier Street, Powell River, BC V8A 5J7.
Dear Powell River Living:
I loved the Home Grown issue! It is so nice to see all the options of local food producers in one publication. I had no idea of some of the farms and what they are offering.
CaroleAnn Leishman
Agius Builders Ltd
Dear Powell River Living:
As an avid armchair historian and one who is easily captivated with the stories of the past I eagerly read the July issue of your magazine celebrating the Centennial of the Townsite. Expecting to find information that told the tale of the Townsite from its earliest origins I was disappointed to see a complete lack of any First Nations reference. While I understand that the intention of the issue was celebrating the founding of the Townsite in 1910, I believe that at minimum the issue should have acknowledged the Tla'Amin people who lived there previously. In the past I have found your publication to be well researched, professional and well assembled. Previous articles on Sliammon have been both topical and relevant.
As we have come to understand, history is typically recorded by the conquering "heroes," and in this case this seems to be especially true. While not always easy stories to tell, they are important on so many levels for our community as we attempt to heal old wounds and move forward as a strong and vibrant place aware of its past, both positive and negative. As with the telling of all stories there are always missing pieces based on the perspectives of those who do the recording.
The Townsite and location for the mill was known as Tees-kwat and was the traditional village site of the Tla'Amin people. Interestingly, the same Dr. Israel Powell who surveyed the native settlement of Tees-kwat as the site of a "natural industrial site" with its "sheltered port, huge water supply and tremendous forest of quality trees" was also the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for B.C. for more than 17 years. This makes for an interesting story, one that calls into focus the questions of what really happened to mark the "founding of the Townsite."
As the Tla'Amin people continue to work towards self government and acceptance of a proud and rich cultural connection with these lands for thousands of years before Cook, Vancouver, and Powell were ever on the scene, it seems even more timely to acknowledge these beginnings. Simply burying our heads in the sand and pretending that this area did not once sustainably support thousands of Aboriginal people is a regrettable omission. I am disappointed that in this day and age your publication appears to be perpetuating out dated and disrespectful perspectives on our real beginnings.
In the spirit of telling the story with all the pieces,
Hugh Prichard
Director, Terracentric Coastal Adventures Ltd
Editors Note: Thank you so much, Hugh, for pointing this out. We apologize to the Tla'Amin people and our readers for this oversight. More letters on this subject follow.
Web extra:
Dear Editors,
On a recent visit to Powell River, I had occasion to read your July issue. I was disappointed and highly disturbed to notice the complete lack of regard to the Sliammon history that is integral to the historic anniversary that Powell River is about to celebrate. The mill site itself was the site of the Sliammon village, Tees-kwat. As I understand it, the legitimacy of how the village site was appropriated is rather dubious. This information is easily and freely available on the Sliammon First Nation Treaty website (sliammontreaty.com/who).
Aside from any specific details about the village of Tees-kwat, it would have seemed obvious to me that your publication would have at the very least mentioned that for thousands of years the location of Powell River was and remains part of the traditional territory of the Sliammon people. By failing to do this you leave un-educated readers with the impression that white settlers arrived in an "empty" land. This is clearly un-true. For readers who already have even a minimal awareness of the presence of the Sliammon people on the land, you imply that those first inhabitants somehow fail to qualify as human occupants, perhaps because they were "uncivilized" by particular Euro-centric measures of social organization, economic system or land use.
As a historian of Indigenous peoples (working primarily on the Northwest Coast), I recognize the sort of attitude projected (even if unintentionally) by your recent issue as belonging to the 19th century. The assumptions implied by your July issue's silence on Sliammon history and people remained common well into the 20th century. (Indeed, into the middle of the 20th century public spaces such as movie theatres and restaurants in Powell River commonly segregated Sliammon people from white patrons.) I would not, however, have expected to see such attitudes and assumptions so prevalent today.
A quick on-line search shows that your publication has, in the past, included articles about the Sliammon people and lands. Your staff is clearly not unaware of the presence of the Sliammon First Nation a few kilometres north of the townsite. This only leaves me at more of a loss to understand why none of your editorial staff made the connection between Sliammon people and the founding of Powell River. The history of white settlement and capitalist transformation in British Columbia is inextricably tied up with the history, and more specifically the displacement and dispossession, of First Nations in British Columbia. They are not discrete topics that can be treated in isolation from one another. To do so is to make a grave historical error and to perpetuate out-dated and racist assumptions.
Dr. Paige Raibmon
Associate Professor
Department of History
University of British Columbia
Dear Editors,
Your July issue of Powell River Living was largely dedicated to the upcoming anniversary of the founding of the Townsite with particular focus on the history of the area. I was deeply disturbed by the complete lack of acknowledgement of the Sliammon people in the issue. The Sliammon village of Tees-kwat was located where the mill site currently sits today and in fact the Sliammon people were forcibly removed from this historic village site to make way for the development of the mill and the settlement of the community of Powell River.
I am sure that your staff is well aware of this history of the site as your magazine has previously included articles focusing on Sliammon and its people. Furthermore, the actual Tees-kwat site is clearly marked by signage indicating that it is part of the traditional territory of the Sliammon people.
I believe that your magazine has done a great disservice to its readers by failing to report the full history of the region - these facts are not history specific to the Sliammon people, but is our collective history as residents of the Powell River area, and is indeed our shared history as British Columbians. This history is absolutely crucial to developing improved relationships and understandings between First Nations and the broader population. Finally, your magazine has done a great disservice to the Sliammon people by not acknowledging their ancestral and ongoing ties to their traditional territory. I strongly urge you to rectify this matter in your next issue.
Harmony Johnson
Director of Policy
First Nations Summit
Kudos to a national champion!
Kudos to Abby Lloyd for winning gold at the Canadian Junior National Judo Championship. The 13-year-old Powell River girl fought her way to first in the U15 female minus 52 kilogram weight class in Lethbridge, Alberta. She beat both the Manitoba and Quebec champions in order to clinch the gold.
"All her hard work is paying off. She trains hard and focuses and her dedication shows," says Neil McKenzie, Powell River Club Club Sensei. Keep up the good work Abby, as you continue to chase your Olympic dream!
And more kudos are in order for Neil McKenzie who was awarded a gold medal, too, for coaching Abby.
Silver medals on broken ankle
Kudos to 15-year-old Cale Hernandez for winning two silver medals at the BC Summer Games. Cale's participation in the Games was in doubt after he broke his ankle in a soccer game (see July 2010 issue of Powell River Living). But Cale refused to give up and got a special medical dispensation to compete. He won silver in javelin with a throw of 40.01 metres. He also helped 4x100m relay team from Zone 6 to a silver medal. While he was back up to his pre-accident speeds in his individual races, the break in training put him behind the pace. He was 9th in the 300m and 13th in the 200m sprints.
