Page 42 - Presbyterian Connection

Connection
RECONCILIATION
Territory Acknowledgement
42
PRESBYTERIAN
SPRING 2023
presbyterian.ca
By yaxšiqimł (Natika Bock) on
the Traditional and Unceded Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc within the Secwépemcúl’ecw. The Secwépemc maintain a spiritual and practical relationship with the land, water, air, animals, plants and all things needed for life. Natika is a Master of Divinity student at Vancouver School of Theology/St. Andrew’s Hall and is a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church in New Westminster, B.C.
The following Land Acknowledge- ment was written and delivered virtually by Natika Bock to launch the celebration of the Constitution of Trinity Presbyterian Church in New Westminster, B.C., and the instalment of the ministry.
Weyt-kp xwexweytep.
I just said “hello everyone” in secwépemctsin because I am joining this worship and cel- ebration today, virtually, from the traditional, unceded and an- cestral homelands of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc within the Secwépemcúl’ecw.
éy swayel.
And now I’ve said hello in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, using the downri- ver dialect of hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓,which is a Coast Salish language and the official language the Qiqéyt
(Qayqayt) (ka-kite) People.
Today we recognize we are uninvited guests on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples, specifically the Qiqéyt First Na- tion. Speaking literally and virtu- ally into these four walls of our settler establishment, I acknowl- edge that my family and ances- tors have not been here since the
beginning.
Qiqéyt First Nation is one of the
smallest First Nations in Canada and one of a few registered with- out a land base. New Westmin- ster Indian Band was created by Indian Agents in 1879, as a com- posite reserve (for several, not for one single First Nation) to house migrant labourers and fishers from different First Nations. But long before it was appropriated and mechanized under the Indian Act, “qiqéyt” (meaning “resting place”) was a shared, traditional, ancestral, seasonal fishing village and hunting base; a great place to pick cranberries since the begin- ning of time.
The New Westminster reserve was closed by the McKenna–Mc- Bride Commission in 1916 and most of the Qiqéyt People were displaced to other reserve com- munities, and were married into or adopted into other Nations,
Natika’s daughter, Eden, a citizen of Huu-ay-aht First Nation, pictured in New Westminster, in the territory of Qiqéyt First Nation.
relocating to Musqueam, Squam- ish, and Washington State. With exception of the family of Marie Joseph, who was one of the last to live on the former reserve.
When the Qiqéyt was intention- ally dismembered, Creator bundled their distinctness and community, lovingly, protecting them until it was time to be remembered.
Marie was born in Qiqéyt and at a young age, both of her parents passed away. With that, Marie was sent to Kamloops Indian Residen- tial School, where she experienced and witnessed all the atrocities
that are well documented.
In 1985, Marie passed away
and her daughter Rhonda Larra- bee made it her mission to hon- our her mother’s story. Rhonda dedicated the next several years to proving to the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) that she was Marie’s daughter and in 1994, Qiqéyt First Nation reconstituted, and Rhonda be- came the first documented mem- ber. Originally boundaried with intention of enfranchisement and assimilation, then ultimately par- celled and sold as capital, today Rhonda Larrabee remains the proud hereditary chief of her na- tion, growing with 15 registered members and almost 100 docu- mented members.
I introduced myself in secwépemctsin and hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ , but language is more than simple communication; it’s a way of life. Indigenous languages con- nect the land and the people; Tqelt Kukpi7 (Creator) gifted the land along with the language, as the relationship of language and land are one and the same—a reciprocal action where they form and animate one another. Today hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ is considered to be a severely endangered language with fewer than 100 remaining fluent speakers.
A land acknowledgement is a relational process, within the context of colonization and rec- onciliation. It’s so important to understand that at the beginnings of our services, celebrations, and events, we focus on land and ter- ritory—rather than only highlight- ing Indigenous culture and iden- tity. After all, Indigenous peoples are distinct, not merely part of
our multicultural vision of Cana- dian society. When we say aloud a land acknowledgement, we are acknowledging that we are enter- ing into an Indigenous-specific, anti-racism narrative, one that spotlights European imperialism, theft of land, and displacement of nations and communities, includ- ing human beings, the four-leg- ged, winged, finned, rooted and non-rooted, and water.
Also, it’s important to me that I understand and know that it’s impossible to talk about the sig- nificance and impact of our Pres- byterian community, without ac- knowledging that I have inherited the settler, Western Christendom distorted gaze, and that I have benefited, continue to benefit, and even contribute to modern-day colonial practices.
I am no longer afraid to speak this truth.
Decolonization, not as a meta- phor, but as a relationship, re- quires me to recognize that as a settler, I am not in charge of shared spaces. This reciproc- ity demands that I examine how I enter into and conduct myself in these places—like this sacred space, that I share with each and every one of you today.
My hope is that by sharing my research and these admissions, I have encouraged others to review truthfully their own relationships with the lands they occupy.
Sharing this is one meaningful step towards authentic reconcili- ation. To be clear, this is my work to do, and I am committed to it.
Thank you for receiving my words.
c̓∙iθamə cən, thank you all. kukwstsétsemc, thank you.