By Abby Francis, quathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Family Tree is a project Tla’amin has been working on since the 1990s. Tla’amin was given a grant for genealogy by the treaties society, they used the grant to connect the community through lifelines of a family tree. However, the tree had stopped being updated in the early 2000s, leaving out any new family members born after that time. Until now.
Continue reading First Nations finding five generations of familyNational 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 Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FM, Local Journalism Initiative
Without the labour of Asian immigrants, who ran the city’s lumber mill and built railroads all over Canada, Abbotsford wouldn’t be what it is today. Many of the South Asian families in the valley are second and third generation Canadians with established roots in the local community.
Continue reading The hushed Racist history of AbbotsfordBy 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 AbbotsfordBy Aly Laube, Fraser Valley Community Radio, CIVL 101.7 FM, Local Journalism Initiative
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity. This content might include some explicit language.
Abbotsford, BC is the largest municipality in the Fraser Valley Regional District, an exurban area about an hour east of Vancouver. It’s growing very quickly, with a 2013 City of Abbotsford Official Community Plan expecting 40,000 new residents within 20 years.
Continue reading Abbotsford’s secret History of Racism: Introduction
