Reconciliation – Nanaimo and Snuneymuxw First Nation

October 11, 2018

Reconciliation – Nanaimo and Snuneymuxw First Nation

Nanaimo is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island with a population of 60,000. Visiting Nanaimo we learned how native villages and territory, going back 2,500-5,000 years ago, were displaced to make room for the white settlers. This is the historic territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, and it was never ceded to the settlers through treaty, war or voluntary surrender. This injustice, along with much else vile that was done to indigenous peoples in Canada, is now being acknowledged and in some cases remedied through a national process of reconciliation.

In the case of Snuneymuxw, this reconciliation was advanced when the Canadian government last year agreed to provide the First Nation with $49 million in compensation for a 79-acre reserve that the government acknowledges was improperly taken in 1862. While the settlement is not adequate compensation for the spiritual, social and economic loss that impoverished these people, “Snuneymuxw is enabled to take meaningful steps to make a real difference in the lives of our people, the future of our Nation, and it is an important component of reconciliation with Canada,” stated Snuneymuxw Chief John Wesley.

We have also learned about other examples of reconciliation and efforts to achieve restitution and a more balanced and equal relationship between Canada and its native peoples.

· Victoria this year removed founding Prime Minister John McDonald’s statue from its City Hall – as a response to his expressed contempt for indigenous people and his role as a founder of the residential school system. And the University of Victoria in June, 2017 removed the name of Joseph Trutch, British Columbia's first lieutenant-governor, from a residence building because of his actions trampling over the rights of Indigenous peoples in the 19th century.

· Perhaps more significantly in a major victory for indigenous peoples, Canada’s Court of Appeals recently quashed the $9.3 billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline project supported by the Trudeau government partly because there had not been adequate consultation with First Nations affected by it and thus their rights were undermined.

· Meanwhile another major energy project was lauded by First Nations “for respectful consultation” as LNG Canada consulted consistently and early, and listened and accommodated to the wishes of affected First Nations, “the first time ever that we were seen as partners,” according to one First Nations leader.

· Vancouver is moving forward as a self-designated “City of Reconciliation” and recently renamed two major plazas with Coast Salish names: the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza is now “šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énk” Square and the Queen Elizabeth Theatre Plaza is “šxʷƛ̓exən Xwtl’a7shn” Plaza. The City’s website provides a pronunciation guide.