First Nations hopeful new B.C. government’s pledges are more than ‘hollow words’
VANCOUVER — For Musqueam Indian Band Coun. Wendy Grant-John, talk of reconciliation by the new British Columbia government brings to mind the memory of her relatives being expelled from their traditional territory to make way for what is now Stanley Park in Vancouver.
“My great-grandmother, along with the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (nations), had houses there, had houses that were moved off to ensure that the newcomers had a park that they could relish in for the rest of their lives, to the detriment of our people,” Grant-John said Wednesday, gesturing from the convention centre on Vancouver’s waterfront towards the park.
“Those struggles are the ones that we continue today.”
As members of the province’s cabinet and First Nations communities meet ahead of the new legislative session this Friday, many Aboriginal leaders say the new government’s commitment to work with Indigenous Peoples feels different than the “hollow words” that have preceded past disappointments.