Category Archives: Indigenous Nations History

Bringing Klahoose ancestors home

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Klahoose Nation’s traditional winter village lies at the head of Toba Inlet on B.C.’s west coast along the southernmost flank of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Nearby, alongside the Tahumming River, is an old cemetery sparsely covered with wooden or stone markers, mainly active while the Klahoose still lived in the Toba.

But some markers sit at the head of holed out graves, fenced off with care despite being empty.

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These Are My Words

As an immigrant to Canada, I was shocked to learn about the Canadian legacy of residential schools. I had no idea growing up in the U.S. that such things were happened and had happened just north of the border. The indigenous residential schools operated in Canada starting in the 1870s with the last one not closing until1996. Children as young as four were taken—often against the will of their families or with coercive techniques such as threatening jail time—and it is estimated that over 150,000 Indian, Inuit, and Métis children attended residential school. I was reminded that it is a  legacy that continues to shade aspects of Canadian culture and identity for all Canadians this year when I became a citizen. At the ceremony, the judge encouraged all of us new Canadians to make the act of reconciliation personal and spoke about how she was doing that in her life. 

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Discovery Islands, Bute Inlet & Nootka Sound

 In this morning’s Cortes Currents, we continue with the audio from Jeanette Taylor’s recent talk at Manson’s Hall. In the previous episode she talked about Old Quadra Island. Now we explore the rest of the Discovery Islands, Bute Inlet & Nootka Sound.

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Speaking Our Language

By Roy L Hales

I probably first heard his Klahoose language program sometime between 2010 and 2013. We were already on Cortes and the radio was always tuned to CKTZ. By the time you hear this, he will have returned home from another teaching venue. Norm Harry was the eldest speaker for the  ɬəʔamɛn, or Klahoose, Nation. The ɬəʔamɛn and three other Northern Coast Salish nations recently came together for an event called Speaking Our Language.

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