Tag Archives: Georgina Silby

Indigenous Nations, Indigenous Nations History

Folk U: Chief Kevin Peacey on Politics, Projects & the Past (Part 1)

Interview by Manda Aufochs Gillespie; written version by Roy L Hales  

On Friday, May 29, 2026, Chief Kevin Peacey of the Klahoose First Nation came to the Cortes Radio station, where he was interviewed by Manda Aufochs Gillespie. This is a highly edited and abridged transcript of that program.

In part one: Kevin talks about the Klahoose population, housing, the new cultural centre, the chief and council, canoe journeys and community activities.

Manda: “Cortes Community Radio sits on the ancestral and territorial lands of the Klahoose, Tla’amin, and perhaps the Homalco peoples. I’d like to thank this land, these people who have walked this land through time, and all those who continue to love and work to honour this place we call home. Today, we are very lucky to have our neighbour and leader of the Klahoose First Nation join us in the studio. Chief Kevin Peacey, thank you so much for being here.”

Kevin: “Thank you for having me.”

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Arts

Inspirations: An interview with Ruby Singh

Juno-nominated musician Ruby Singh recently returned to Cortes Island, both as a facilitator for the CASE Youth Leadership Conference at Hollyhock and to give a concert at Manson’s Hall. In this morning’s interview, he talks about his many forms of artistic expression, inspirations, and relationship with Cortes Island. 

Ruby Singh:  “I find inspiration in a lot of different ways. I feel like we are all just small tendrils of creation, so the act of creation and the act of creativity are among the most natural ways of being. Other artists really inspire me. I am deeply inspired by ancestry and futurity at the same time, so finding ourselves where we are in this timeline of inheritance from our ancestors, and what we are thinking about leaving here when we leave. Long timelines really inspire me, and deep time is a very inspirational thing. I get a lot of inspiration from my community, from the people around me, and from this more-than-human world that surrounds us.” 

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Food

Cortes Island’s Community Meal Program

There is a community meal somewhere on Cortes Island every week. 

“A warm bowl of soup, or a stew, that’s at the heart of it. Then there’s always some sort of fresh veggies or a fresh veggie platter cut up.  Folks are getting that kind of food in them.  Then bread and butter, because that’s just the  basics for everybody and usually a dessert, some sort of cookies or brownies and the whole meal includes gluten free and vegetarian options,” explained Yasmina Cartland.  

“There’s nothing you have to do to come to lunch. Everyone can come. You don’t have to prove that you need it. It’s completely inclusive. It’s meant to be a warm social time and it’s meant to actually nourish people with some warm nourishing food.”  

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Indigenous languages, Indigenous Nations History

Truth and Reconciliation Ceremony on Cortes Island

There was a Truth and Reconciliation ceremony at Gorge Harbour on Monday, September 30. It consisted of sacred songs and sharing experiences, as well as Chief Steven Brown’s perspectives on how the Klahoose are reclaiming their present and their future.

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Animals

The First Wildlife Coexistence program on Vancouver Island

Around 40 people turned out for the Wildlife Coexistence Gathering on Cortes Island. This was an opportunity for Cortesians to meet some of the extended community of advisors  to the local program and learn more about our three top predators: grey wolf, black bear and cougar. The gathering was organized and hosted by Sabina Leader Mense and Georgina Silby from the Cortes Community Wolf Project. It began with a welcoming ceremony in the Klahoose All Purpose Building on Friday, April 5. There was an all day teaching series in the Linnaea Education Centre the following day. The gathering ended with a walk through the wildlife travel corridor in Hank’s Beach Forest Conservation Park on Sunday, April 7.  

Sabina Leader Mense emailed, “We celebrated our cultural relationships to our wild kin with the Klahoose First Nations singers & drummers and our guests Grace SoftDeer from the Chickasaw First Nation and Dennis Hetu from the Toquaht First Nation. We then explored our social and ecological relationships with our wild kin in formal and informal presentations by our invited guests, Bob Hansen, Pacific Rim Coordinator for WildSafeBC and Todd Windle, Coordinator for the Wild About Wolves Project.

Cortes Currents recorded most of the sessions at Linnaea and has arranged the material in a series of articles. This is an abridged version of the segment in which Bob Hansen talked about the origins of Vancouver Island’s first wildlife coexistence program. Years later it became the model for Cortes Island’s program, and Hansen was one of Sabina Leader Mense’s mentors.

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