National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Nations and families from far-flung parts of coastal B.C. gathered to launch the Sacred Journey exhibit and celebrate the enduring importance of Indigenous canoe culture that stretches across the Pacific Northwest coast.
Continue reading Sacred journey exhibit celebrates Indigenous canoe cultureBy Michael Potestio, Kamloops This Week, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Mona Jules recalls the Kamloops Indian Residential School sounding like a beehive when she arrived at the age of six in the late 1940s.
Being fluent in her own Indigenous language, Jules said she couldn’t understand anyone.
“The buzzing and the noise. I just looked form face to face. I couldn’t understand anything,” she said.
Leona Thomas remembers her first day, entering that school at the age of six in 1958, and being pried from her brother’s back and split up.
Continue reading Kamloops Indian Residential School Survivors share their storiesWarning: This story contains details that may provoke distress or trauma in some readers.
National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Jody Wilson-Raybould endured a salvo of emotions as news broke confirming the unmarked graves of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School at Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.
The Independent MP for the riding of Vancouver Granville, former justice minister, and member of the We Wai Kai Nation was in her home community on Quadra Island, B.C., when she heard.
The initial surge of incredible sadness was pursued by increasing anger and a fixed sense of frustration.
Continue reading Jody Wilson-Raybould tells Ottawa to take responsibility for reconciliationThe following piece is potentially triggering, and contains references to racism, racial slurs, and violence.This opinion piece is based on my personal experience and exploration within my lifetime, of the continuing cycle of systemic racism and colonial violence.
Associate professor Rajnish Dhawan, from the University of the Fraser Valley, makes a distinction between hate-based and ignorance-based racism.
He is quoted in a series of programs that Fraser Valley Community Radio recently broadcast about Abbotsford’s hushed racist history.
That prompted me to think about the community I was raised in, across the river in Maple Ridge.
Continue reading Confessions of an ignorant RacistBy Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FM, Local Journalism Initiative
To understand the nature of systemic racism and white supremacy in Abbotsford, you have to understand the history. But that history can be hard to find, tucked away in archives and couched in vague language. The information is there if you look, and it speaks volumes about the area’s past in relation to upholding structures that support white settlers.
In 1925, American Klu Klux Klan members came to Abbotsford in search of new recruits. For $10 apiece, residents born in Canada, the US, the UK, and Northern Europe who were white, male, able-bodied, Protestant, and “of sound mind” could sign up to join the KKK and become part of an organized effort to “maintain forever White Supremacy.”
Continue reading The Klu Klux Klan comes to Abbotsford
