They occupied Cortes Radio’s broadcast area for thousands of years before the European advent. The Homalco, Tla’amin, Klahoose, and K’ómoks nations’ shared language testifies to their common ancestry. Their neighbours, the Laich-kwil-tach were fierce warriors, whose canoes carried raiders into the southern Georgia Strait, Puget Sound and up the Fraser River. (They attacked the Hudsons Bay Company post at Fort Langley in 1837). When the influx of settlers was sufficiently numerous, they took over. The indigenous population was deprived of lands they had occupied for generations. Their customs and governance was superseded. Prior to 1960, the native population could not vote in a Federal election unless they first surrendered their treaty rights and Indian status. This situation is slowly improving. The BC Treaty Commission was set up in 1992, but so far has only signed a single treaty within our area. So I asked the candidates running in the Powell River – North Island what their parties will do about unresolved indigenous issues
Originally published May 24; some additional information added May 30
By Roy L Hales
The Electoral Area Service Committee (EASC) continues to thwart Cortes Island’s Grants in Aid from going forward. At their May 8th committee meeting, three of the four EASC Directors (Abram, Leigh & Whalley) did not acknowledge the Cortes applications, in an obviously concerted attempt to prevent the applications from reaching the Stathcona Regional District Board. At the May 22nd Board Meeting, the remaining EASC Director (Noba Anderson from Cortes Island) made a motion for the SRD board to receive the applications. Quadra Island Director Jim Abram responded with a motion to defer the matter. This was secounded by Oyster Bay – Buttle Lake Director Brenda Leigh. They were defeated. This prompted Directors Abram and Leigh to recuse themselves “due to legal ramifications.” After the board approved receipt of the applications, the Cortes Island Grant-in-Aid debate moved in camera.
This is a Cortes Radio update about reconciliation in action taken from the introduction that Carrie Saxifrage, President of the Cortes Community Forest Cooperative, gave to a meeting at Mansons Hall on May 22, 2019.
There were two key Cortes items at the Strathcona Regional District Board’s April 25 meeting. Chair Michele Babchuk said the SRD hopes to hold a final consultation meeting, regarding funding for first responders funding and the island’s two community halls, in early June. We may be looking at a referendum next Fall. Also, the Klahoose Nation’s Grant-in-Aid application was approved.
