Tag Archives: #reconciliation

It’s an uncomfortable time, painful even.  

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Yesterday I was interviewed about indigenous racism here.  The conversation delved into many nuances of our community experience, but I focused on our wealth, culturally and socially, and the context of our struggling post mill-town economy. What mill taxes paid for is now in our laps. Painful. Sustainable? Many think not. What do we do?  Work together.  Figure it out, together, and then do what we must. 

Right after that I ran into a friend and mentioned this conversation to her.  I immediately discovered she’s quite intolerant. An aunt of hers committed suicide. Yes, it was in residential school.  She was 10. I’ve known her for years, but I didn’t know she was indigenous. It was a shock. Partly because I have one of those memories; of a young teen girl. Three paramedics working frantically, clinging to hope that our intervention would work as I drove that ambulance far faster than I should have down the highway from that school washroom to a hospital. We didn’t save her. Very hard to reconcile. Memories we live with.  Painful.

I’ve recently seen that scalable perspective helps me grasp the pain of daily life. Imbalances way up the chain in our society are the same as the ones we see on our streets. Only the scale is different. Also, there is an “enough floor”.  Most of us are used to having more than enough, maybe just enough, but when you don’t, survival is all that’s left. Grim. Perhaps almost more painful to watch than to be in? Because when you’re just surviving, you’re not contributing much to your community. Don’t we all want to contribute at least something? It’s central to purpose in life.

It brings me back to our town. Here we are, a community used to reasonably comfortable living, good community assets, from mill taxes and wages. Assets need to be maintained, and operation costs rise and rise.  One of the most expensive is also the most popular according to community feedback this spring; the pool. I’m pointing to a big question city councils have struggled with for years. Uncomfortable. How often is pain what we have in common?

I have memories, feelings I must reconcile when I’m confronted by painful stuff. I’m thankful I can. Our memories and experiences are different, even if they’re inherited. How many of us don’t have them? Any of us? Yes, pain we have in common, and challenges. And also, wealth, socially and culturally. We can work together on it all.   

Two name problems

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One problem is the association of the name Powell with residential schools, and its history and trauma for indigenous people. This deserves recognition, & appreciation. The effects of that trauma are clearly present; including amoung others, mental health challenges & addictions.

The other problem; Powell represents identity for many people here. Questioning identity amounts to a personal threat for many who were unprepared for it. A natural reaction has been defensive and little has happened that hasn’t essentially only bolstered defensiveness. This needs recognition too, and appreciation.

Many people also want to do something about what is relatively new knowledge for many about what happened to indigenous people. Reconciliation? Change the name? This question has divided our community since we stopped doing anything about it since the last civic election in Oct. 2022.

Yes or no divides us.  The community we need now, to face increasing challenges, needs to work together to find our way forward. It doesn’t matter how slowly; we just need to do it together. Division is our real current challenge. We must deal with that within our Powell River community before we can ever reconcile with the people who first asked the name question.

The Tla’amin Nation is thriving now like never before. Strength and pride have surged culturally and acquisitions of mill lands and TFL39 promise future economic prosperity. Meanwhile, our city faces sagging revenues, increasing costs, and people suffering mental health challenges, addictions, and homelessness too. There is a lot for us to work on together.

These two “name” problems are not two sides of the same problem. We are basically two distinct peoples with very linked but different histories. Some of us, or our ancestors, migrated here so we have inherited a problem, and now it is ours. Opportunity to reconnect within our community is ours. Failing to do that these past few years has resulted in antagonism, and conflict between us, prejudice, racism, blame. This is painful at a community scale, and it has gone on too long. Let’s take a breath, step back from reacting and taking it personally, and get working together again, for the good of ourselves and our whole community.

This fall we will have opportunity in a civic election to choose new leadership. The choice is very clear. Will we choose those who make promises that focus on what we fear, and deliver continued division and misery? Or will we choose leadership committed to reconnection with each other in spite of our different views, in spite of our apparent divisions, willing to face whatever is ahead of us together, however hard that might be, together as one community.  I hope and pray we all care enough to vote with true hearts, and take the path back toward thriving together.

Let’s Listen & Talk, about identity and heritage

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A little over four years ago I met with a man I respect.   He wanted to talk about something that felt urgent and important.  It was hard to address, and deeply personal.  We sat in his truck beside the ocean. I listened.  

A short time before that, the question had been asked of city council while in a C3 meeting with the Tla’amin legislative council and the qRD Board, “will you consider changing the name of Powell River?  The name Powell has painful associations for indigenous people here.  It shook and divided our community.  But the question being articulated by this brave friend was “what of my identity and my heritage? I had no good answer.   His question stuck with me.    

Back to the City, a working group was formed, and meetings and public gatherings followed, and by the summer a year later that group produced a report with 11 recommendations.  It was a serious effort to address the name change question and underlying reasons it was asked.     What it didn’t represent was the question this man had asked, “what of my identity, my heritage?    Now, four years after both those questions were asked, one very public and one not public at all, something has become clear to me. 

The name change question devolved into a simple binary; yes or no, and most of us aligned with one side or the other.   For three years there’s been division in our community.  Some want a poll to democratically decide.   Doing that now would confirm division.  It would belie that we are one community, that we all have our community’s best interests at heart and all love being here.  My friend’s question points to a way through.  What is my identity?  What is my heritage?

The answer to that question is as varied as we are.  We are from many places in the world, with many backgrounds.  We bring diverse, rich heritages and identities.  This community is world renowned for culture, athletics, and natural beauty.   We are rich in these things.   Can we unite in pride and celebration for this wealth we all happily share here?   Yes, we can!   We can remember who we are, remember we are one community.   We can grieve losses together, personal and community-wide.  We can celebrate all the good we have together.   However, we have work to do now to remember that.  There is no way around it. 

We have to start somewhere.  Council and the City have been unable to restart us; this is work for community.  If we acknowledge & celebrate everyone’s identity and heritage, maybe then we can consider our name.  

Let’s meet in the Cran Hall Tues. Oct. 28 at 7 pm to talk and to listen.