October 2014 editorial: Respect and consultation work both ways

By Brian Lee

 

For as long as I’ve lived here, when members of the Sechelt Indian Band come to Pender Harbour, they usually wear cleats and proceed to school us in soccer. So, it surprised me when the former chief of the SIB, Garry Feschuk, issued a press release a couple of years ago claiming:  "In recent decades, the proliferation of private moorages has done significant damage to Sechelt’s economy, fisheries, and way of life." As the band’s dispute with the province and subsequent moratorium on Pender Harbour docks enters its 12th year, a cynic might ask, "What is it they really want?" Last month we got a hint.

The Sechelt Indian Band quietly erected a "longhouse" on provincial park land in Garden Bay. It stands as a symbolic declaration that the SIB intend to assert themselves in Pender Harbour. Confirming their political intent, a press release marking its completion opened with a reference to the recent recognition of  Ts’ilhquot’in title to their traditional territory by the Supreme Court of Canada. SIB Chief Calvin Craigan went on to say,

"Kalpilin [Pender Harbour] is at the heart of our territory and the importance of the area cannot be overstated."

Better than most, I would say, I understand Pender Harbour’s centrality to the Shishalh people before measles and smallpox decimated their lot and missionaries forced a move to Sechelt in the late 1860s. Pender Harbour has a rich archeological past and one I’m continuing to expand my appreciation for. And I would welcome the band’s recent interest if it came in the form of investment and mutual partnerships rather than political posturing to exert more control over anyone who chooses to live or do business here. But there’s an arrogance on the part of the SIB that rubs many the wrong way and it’s exhibited by their complete lack of consultation with our community. Consultation is at the very heart of their dispute with the province yet the band council hasn’t the foresight to understand the same holds true with their closest neighbours. The fact that waterfront owners in Secret Cove, Halfmoon Bay, Sechelt Inlet or Egmont are exempt from the dock ban only increases the wariness many Pender Harbour residents feel toward the band.

The SIB certainly has a legitimate beef with the province but it’s not over Pender Harbour’s clams. How much has the ongoing uncertainty for newcomers looking to purchase waterfront property cost our community? The SIB doesn’t feel it owes us an answer. Despite repeated attempts over the years, I’ve yet to receive a comment from anyone at the SIB. Neither our community nor the Harbour Spiel were even invited to the longhouse opening celebration. It seems we’re a wealthy hostage whose captors’ only interest is what they can ransom us for. And anyone who cares to look past the cedar boughs and smudging ceremonies will find a corporate ambition that prefers confrontation over compromise.

I challenge anyone who claims a deeper connection to this land than the descendants of pioneer settlers who came here after the Shishalh left. But we all should be offended by the SIB’s refusal to acknowledge that the community that sits here now deserves a voice when it comes to asserting authority over it.

Comments

[MindOfCrema]

You do realize that the Sechelt people have every right to do this as they want. It is THEIR territory, not yours.
Also, you should put more thought into what you say and watch that hint of racism at the end of the article, it's a very disrespectful gesture and very unprofessional.