Some valid points were raised by Pender Harbour residents at last Saturday’s dock plan meeting, but that’s not what the meeting will be remembered for – at least not by members of the shíshálh Nation and many of their supporters.
No, it will be remembered as the meeting where Elder Jamie Dixon was repeatedly heckled, even though it was only a handful of boors who caused the trouble.
Dixon was introduced by shíshálh resource director Sid Quinn and strode to the microphone to give an opening prayer and comment, when a woman shouted in an exasperated tone: “Oh, come on!”
“Where do you wanna go?” Dixon lobbed back in his big voice.
“Back to our homes, in our land,” one guy said. “Back to our private property,” said another. “You’re not touching our land,” said another, sharply.
When Dixon began his prayer in the she shashishalhem language, an impatient groan came from a segment of the audience.
There was more, but Dixon maintained his dignity and finished his appeal for mutual respect and “an open heart.”
The message was wasted on more than a few.
It’s understandable that people get upset when they feel their real estate is being seriously threatened. Property represents a family’s net worth, and no one is going to sit back and watch their children’s legacy get watered down without a fight.
But the general hostility toward the Band went beyond red zone and purple zone concerns, or even longhouses in parks – all of which can be addressed in the right spirit. The dismissive attitude on display at the meeting seemed based on some wishful thinking that Pender Harbour does not have to recognize itself as a part of shíshálh Nation territory.
That’s dangerously delusional, considering the B.C. government and the Sunshine Coast Regional District accept the boundaries of shíshálh traditional territory as a legal and historic fact and have developed government-to-government relationships with the Band.
Denying reality can come with a price. As MLA Nicholas Simons pointed out on his blog Sunday, in relation to the Jamie Dixon heckling incident, “Don’t people realize that an insult in the longhouse led to the [dock] moratorium in the first place? An elder there was shown disrespect – I remember, I was working on Band Land at the time, and can tell you it’s not helpful.”
Not helpful and not careful. Best to remember where the power lies.
