Monthly Archives: September 2022

Truth & Reconciliation Day from a W̱SÁNEĆ perspective On Truth and Reconciliation Day, we are featuring the perspectives of members of our W̱SÁNEĆ community. We asked, what does the day mean to you, and how are you spending the day. Special thanks to Dave Paul, ESKISELWET / Tracy Underwood, Carolyn Sampson, Edna Ellsworth, and Kusemaat - Shirley Williams for sharing their stories. Interviewer, What does Truth & Reconciliation Day mean to you? Kusemaat - Shirley Williams:  Truth and Reconciliation Day means remembering our ancestors and all life of Mother Earth every day and taking action to ensure thriving culture and [...]

W̱SÁNEĆ youth from the W̱SÁNEĆ Leadership School and Stelly’s Highschool have planned a demonstration on Reconciliation Day, urging Saanich Mayor to rename Pioneer Park. Shown above: Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay needs a new name, urge W̱SÁNEĆ  Students This Friday, September 30th, on Truth and Reconciliation Day, the entire student body and staff will be marching to raise awareness of the need for reconciliation to include concrete action. The Reconcili-ACTION walk, called ŚTEṈ,ISTEL which means “Walking/Moving Each Other Forward” will take place from 12:00 - 2:00 pm on September 30th; on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known [...]

This time of year, around the new moon in the month of October, is traditionally known as PEKELANEW - The Moon That Turns the Leaves White  This is the moon of the turning white season (frost). This moon brings the first frost. The leaves lose their colours and turn pale. Deer hunting is the activity during this moon. The earth is cooling down and the people turn their efforts to hunting. WEATHER The longer, cooler nights can lead to frost on the leaves and the ground in higher country. ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES The W̱SÁNEĆ people began splitting the cedar [...]

Indians See Halt To Clam Digging    A  B.C. fisheries regulation which prohibits shell fishing within 400 feet of a marina would stop the Tsawout Indian Band from collecting clams on its own shoreline, band manager Gus Underwood said today.    The government regulation sets 400 feet as the minimum shellfish closure area around a marina to guard against people collecting contaminated shellfish.    The 400-foot boundary would be the minimum imposed around the planned Saanichton Bay Marina and the closure would include some of the Tsawout Indian Band’s shoreline in the bay.    Del McCaw, a provincial fisheries inspector, said the 400-foot closure [...]

Protesters in Grace Islet row given month to prepare case Judge delays decision on owner’s application for no-trespassing order The owner of Grace Islet, where a home is being built over a First Nations burial site, asked a B.C. Supreme Court judge Tuesday to issue a no-trespassing order to keep protesters away.    But the judge said the issue, in which local politicians and First Nations chiefs have joined protesters, could be more complicated than trespassing and deserved more time for preparation of legal arguments and research of aboriginal rights.    “[The issue] may be as simple as the plaintiff says it [...]

What do you think of Truth & Reconciliation Day? The National Day of Truth & Reconciliation (formerly known as Orange Shirt Day) is coming up on September 30th. The WLC is looking for W̱SÁNEĆ Community Members to share their perspectives on what the day means to them and how they are spending the day. Your perspective will be included in an upcoming article on the W̱SÁNEĆ perspectives of Truth & Reconciliation Day. Please click here to share your thoughts: Your Perspective On Truth & Reconciliation Day (your names will be kept confidential unless you give us permission to share it) [...]

Indians challenging plans for Tod Inlet Traditional native Indian hunting and fishing rights will be affected by a massive resort Sam Bawlf plans near Tod Inlet at Brentwood Bay, says Tsartlip Band councillor Philip Paul.    Central Saanich council will hold a public meeting Oct. 8 to consider the proposal.    “We’ve never really challenged the fact that when we lose something because of development there should be some compensation, but we now intend doing that,” Paul said in an interview Tuesday.    “Our people were given fishing and hunting rights on the peninsula by treaties signed years ago,” he said. The head [...]