Jan 22 2008
Sinixt First Nation-Healing comes with Recognition
The Aboriginal people in Canada and the USA have been fighting for their right to land stewardship and identity since European contact. The war over lands and resources results in devastation and strain on our mother earth. In many cases, First Nation Bands and even entire First Nations have been declared extinct in order to acquire these lands and resources. The nearest ongoing example to us is the fight for recognition of the Sinixt First Nation and Arrow Lakes Band. The Arrow Lakes Band ceased to exist as a band for the purpose of the Indian Act… It does not, however, mean that the Sinixt ceased to exist as a tribal group.” — Minister of Indian Affairs
Ron Irwin,
August 9, 1995 We have a cultural law that says you must, when you are done with this body, go back to the earth. When people go and dig up our ancestors and put them on shelves, in boxes, in macramé wall-hangings, or use them for other types of decoration, it makes my ancestors break their cultural law. They can’t go back. And it is our responsibility, because we are the descendants of those people. They are our ancestors. It is our responsibility to bring our ancestors home and rebury them and protect their resting places.” Marilyn James
Appointed Sinixt SpokespersonRevelstoke is the traditional territory of the Sinixt, Ktunaxa, Secwepemc and Okanagan First Nation aboriginal people. Each of these four First Nation aboriginal groups is unique from one another. Still to this day, the Government of Canada instructs their departments to not erect any signage recognizing this area as the traditional territory of the Sinixt First Nation despite the ongoing requests of historians, educators, and surviving Sinixt people. Healing comes with recognition, please visit the Sinixt First Nation website http://sinixt.kics.bc.ca/. Jannica Hoskins
jannica@fallenfeatherproductions.com
22 January 2008
5 comments on “Sinixt First Nation-Healing comes with Recognition”
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My response is to this line : “Government of Canada instructs their departments to not erect any signage recognizing the Sinixt First Nation ” Then I suggest as residents of the province of BC that we approach the BC Government which is recognized as willing to show the respect for aboriginal rights and ask them to place provincial landmarks for the education of all where these ancestors came from and resided without prejudice or reference to any existing claims….it all starts with recognition and respect and I believe they understand this and can guide the Federal government by showing leadership.
Wayne Hoskins
The Arrow Lakes Band ceased to exist as a band for the purpose of the Indian Act… It does not, however, mean that the Sinixt ceased to exist as a tribal group.” – Minister of Indian Affairs
I find it interesting that the band ceased to exist… however not as a tribal group. Isnt this a bit of a oxymoronic statement.
As a tribal group, couldnt they go along and reform as a band, Society, or Corporation and gain recognition amongst thier closest cousins and peers. If you find recognition amongst your family and your peers, wouldnt you be able to create momentum towards the goal of “Cultural Recognitions” and “Formal” recognition from Governments (ie First Nations, Municipal, Provincial and Federal).
To form or revive a community outside of the Indian act would be a first. Gaining recognition for the community through any channel could be a positive.
I am fairly unfamiliar with all the ins and outs of this matter, but its does not surprise me to see that the lack of good will towards this community isnt comming from the top.
-L.C
A man who shares the same last name as me from Port Orchard WA was reading this article following the status of the Arrow Lakes/Sinixt First Nations. His wife is the granddaughter of Eva Orr and the neice of Mr.Campbell both of whom are an infamous duo of the Lakes Tribe. He and his wife have both met Ms. James
and often look on-line for more recent news regarding the Lakes/Sinixt issues. His wife never met her grandmother having been adopted and has yet to (and likely never will) meet her birth mother, brothers, sisters, et al. But then to find that a “Hoskins” has written an article on this subject, well, it was too special to let it go without some mention.
Part two of the Fallen Feather Documentary Trilogy is called the Bandwagon. The Bandwagon will travel accross Canada on from band to band celebrating the cultures within these bands and the story of adoption and the 60′s scoop. WA is just a stones throw from our borders that were not the traditional borders of the First Nations in Canada/USA. The Arrow Lakes Indians/Sinixt used the rivers and lakes to travel from Canada to the USA which is still their traditional territory. We invite those who live in the USA to join our next film journey on the Bandwagon and travel with us from band to band. Perhaps for those who have been subject to these circumstances and the legal framework that still influence child care today this can be a healing journey that heals beyond our national borders. Please email me directly if you would like an email of the Bandwagon itinerary to join in this journey July – August 2008.
Jannica Hoskins
jannica@fallenfeatherproductions.com
(250) 814-0996
Thank you for your concern and support for the Sinixt (pronounced: sin eye’ch-xt). We have a huge fight on our hands to gain respect as an indigenous sovereign nation, and every form of friendship and solidarity gives us strength and encouragement to go on despite the many levels of overwhelming odds against us.
I’d like to address the word ‘band’ in reference to our nation. It may seem a trivial matter, but we’ve discussed it in the past and we are still educating our youth about it. Band was a name applied to us by the U.S. and Canada and in the late 1980s and 1990s we took a long look at it and finally dropped it in 1993. This name inferred that we were small in number, weak in power, and in need of management by the colonial governments. In 1993 we began refering to ourselves as the Sinixt Arrow Lakes Nation. In 2006 we organized the Sinixt Nation Society and are currently seeking justice in Canada’s federal court as such. Gaining recognition and restoration of our rights as the children of the original caretakers is our demand, but given all that our case involves, we are content to wait. We are used to working as we wait. So, thank you again.
I have been trying to find out about my family. My Grandmother was an Enrolled Spokane, Her brothers were enrolled Colville (they had the same parents.) Her mothers last name was Jangro, and Her Fathers last name was Desautel. I do know that her Grandparents worked for the Hudson Bay Company. By chance do you know if either of the above families would be from the Sinixt tribe? I would appreciate you help wiith this matter. Thank you, Jeanette Miller