Editor:
We are privileged to live, work and play on the unceded territories of the shíshálh Nation – “unceded” meaning that no official treaty was ever signed allowing for the transfer of their lands to federal or provincial governments, or to private holdings.
Our new highway signs still recognize the 100+ year modern history of sailor and fisher Joe Gonsalves from the Madeira Islands, Portugal. Gonsalves purchased land from Charles Irvine in kálpilín (Pender Harbour), formerly known as the “Venice of the North.”
Our new signs are an opportunity to acknowledge, and learn more about, 10,000+ years of shíshálh People’s history, including their self-government since 1986. We know that European contact brought to the Sunshine Coast disease (small pox, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, influenza, measles), a residential school that forcibly separated children from their families (1904-1975), and denial of land titles which continue to cause intergenerational cultural trauma and death.
The Truth and Reconciliation Council of Canada Principle No. 8 states that supporting Aboriginal peoples’ cultural revitalization, and integrating Indigenous knowledge systems, oral histories, laws, protocols, and connections to the land into the reconciliation process are essential. Reviving the original name salalus is part of everyone’s journey to a more inclusive Canada.
Nothing has been lost here. Both salalus and Madeira Park are cited on the highway signs – we will all find our way.
M. L. Herle, xwesam (Roberts Creek)
