On Aug. 23, the Lil’wat and N’Quatqua First Nations made a surprise announcement, saying they were “shutting down” access to the popular Joffre Lakes provincial park. The Village of Pemberton (VOP) has also paused its Official Community Plan (OCP) review process so officials can focus on building a “deeper and more meaningful” relationship with the Lil’wat Nation.
It is clear the communities of Lil’wat Nation and Pemberton are moving forward to a shared future, and are in the middle of a period of substantial change. Pique sat down with Lil’wat Political Chief Dean Nelson to talk about a joint history, the future for Joffre Lakes, and what reconciliation really means.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Pique: How important was the time when Joffre Lakes was closed to the public?
Chief Nelson: It was very powerful. The children went there to bathe. It was glacier water but they just felt like they needed to bathe and give thanks for that time and space. We haven’t had that. That’s exactly what I was asking for from the government. We just need time and space, our own time and space. Not wrestling with the crowds trying to park. It’s the very beginning of that. There are medicines that grow there. There are herbs, berries. The place itself is spiritual.
Was Joffre Lakes becoming overpopulated or misused?
It’s like an amusement park. It’s a commodity for them. People think they have to be there, to take the picture there. There is hunting there, too. We have actually had a lot of confrontation because of people going hunting on cultural trails. All of a sudden, there were mountain bikers ripping down wondering what the hell they were doing. It’s a cultural trail first.
I find it as a second coming of people. The first coming was industry. They did the logging. Look at the mountains. They wiped it all out. [Many trees] are gone. Now, the second coming is recreation. People are building trails, paddling lakes, dropping down from the sky, whatever. They are here again.
Would it be better if Joffre Lakes was closed to the public all year round?
When one of our members goes to hunt, they aren’t hunting against our regulations. They are hunting against the province. People would just love to have Joffre gone. It could be the future.
What important projects are you working on?
I want to tell our whole history. We were not on reservations. We were in Whistler. We were up the valley. The villages are still there. There is still evidence that this is where people lived. First came smallpox. Then came religion. Then came reservations. People need to know the whole story, how it all happened.
We are finding our way through it all. The Indian Act is just wrong. It’s important that people understand what it is. We don’t get things for free. We have paid dearly. Our ancestors have paid. I am finding out what happened. I’m putting the pieces together right from the beginning. How the heck did a strong people get moved to a God-forsaken place? It’s swamp land. People sometimes ask me why we live here. It has to be acknowledged and has to be changed. Joffre was a good sign of that.
Are we moving in the right direction?
I think so. I think if people are willing to listen. We were never included in conversations before. We didn’t have a say when our elders’ fishing nets were dragged out and cut up. They were told they had no right to be fishing. Then when you politically protest, you’re deemed something else. You’re told that you don’t even have the right to stand up for yourself?
When did you first feel different as a kid?
It was when lunch came in school. There was a trolley brought in with milk and soup. The white kids would say “that’s for you guys.” I didn’t know what “you guys” meant. They said “you Indians.” I didn’t understand. I didn’t know I was an Indian. I was just from the community. We were just a bunch of kids from the community?
Were there a lot of misconceptions?
We were told that we got that stuff for free. Those were the things that stuck with me. At the time, you could go to the front office and get a pencil. You had your gym strip, pencils, everything given to you for free. But that’s exactly the whole process of taking your meaning, your self-worth. That’s what they did with the welfare system. They gave it to you. They took away your livelihood. You no longer have to go fend for yourself. You just sit at home waiting for a tiny bit of money. It just broke people down. It’s still happening now.
What would you have asked your parents that night?
My mom was a teacher. She taught in a Day School in Mount Currie. I asked her about it. There were a lot of things; the racism, the Indian Affairs. I realized there was more to it than just that. That was the beginning of it for me. It was an awakening, I guess. There were differences there and they were making sure we knew it.
What helps you do what you do?
My kids ground me. My family make it OK for me to do what I do. I used to be part of the firefighting crew. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I thought that was it. I thought being on the firefighting crew was it. It was really heroic. I really hope our young guys and girls do that. I want our youth to have strength and understand that what happened in the past is in the past. We are trying not to get back there.
What is the healing process?
I don’t know. I’ve been trying to find that. There are different levels of it, but the trauma is still there. It’s the reservation itself. It’s the Indian Act itself, and all of its processes. We had the Indian Day School here, too. That was Catholic-run. There were priests and nuns there. I had no idea about the atrocities that came from that until I became Chief and was signing affidavits. I had no idea. To this day, there are still people that will not sign those things for either Residential School or Day School. Some people don’t want to talk about it. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry.
In 10 years’ time, where would you like Lil’wat Nation to be?
Equality. We have to have the same opportunities. We have to have the same land base. We have to not be on a reservation or under the Indian Act. We would be under our own control. We would have our own source of revenue. We are a self-sufficient people. That’s what we were before. We are getting there. Everything has been damaged and it has to be revitalized. We will be self-sufficient. We will have our culture intact. That’s where I really want to see us—a strong, resilient, self-sufficient people
