Some hard truths were shared over a business lunch in Chilliwack this week, exploring Canada’s racism toward First Nations people.
The Chilliwack Chamber of Commerce hosted two special guests at the The’i:Tseliya Health Centre on Wednesday, for the second annual Conversations with Indigenous Leaders.
Maynard Harry (KWAST-en-ayu) has served as chief councillor and councillor of the Tla’amin Nation, and Stewart Alsgard (Qoqoq) is a retired naval captain and former mayor of Powell River.
The two men’s very different lives intertwined when Alsgard became mayor. In the years that have transpired, they have built a relationship through communicating openly and honestly.
They took turns at the lectern, trading stories about politics, their perhaps-unlikely friendship, Canada’s colonizing and racist history, and how that all relates to business leaders today.
“Start relationships,” Maynard told the audience, saying that’s more important anything written in the 94 Calls to Action, or other recent publications. “I don’t need something in a bullet form…talk to an elder, go to a reserve, talk to a youth.”
The Indian Act is a form of apartheid, he said, and was formed to segregate Indigenous people from Canadians. And, he said, it’s still in place today.
Both outlined the importance of truly understanding the country’s history of segregating First Nations people, giving them numbers, and small plots of land. All of these issues affect Indigenous people today, especially when it comes to business and finance.
Tzeachten Chief Derek Epp emceed the event, and spoke often through the discussion. He noted how difficult, and quite often impossible, it is for Chilliwack First Nations people to get mortgages and business loans, just because they live on reserve.
He encouraged businesses to decolonize themselves, and learn more about the lives of local First Nations people.
Tzeachten, he underlined, contributes about $300 million in revenue to the local economy annually. And that is just one of several bands in the Chilliwack area contributing to the economy.
Residential schools, in place for 162 years in this country, had a devastating, long-term impact on First Nations families that continues to be felt today. All the speakers noted today’s youngest generations are showing them hope that true reconciliation might be possible one day.
Epp said it was important not to feel blame or guilt about how Canada was formed, but to learn the true history and acknowledge it.
“I truly believe we have an opportunity here in Chilliwack to do something different,” he said.
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