Remarks by the Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
Douglas College Speaker Series:
Reconciliation – The Experience of BC Peoples
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
New Westminster, British Columbia
Ms. Susan Witter, President of Douglas College, Chief Larrabee, Chief Leah George-Wilson, Dr. Alan McMillan, and Mr. John McCandless. Thank you for your kind invitation to participate in this year’s speaker’s series entitled, Reconciliation – The Experience of BC Peoples.
Of course, reconciliation is an important topic for discussion. After all that aboriginal people have been through one might ask, why reconciliation? The answer lies in our teachings. We are told to never hold onto bad feelings - that we should let go of those things that cause us pain and suffering.
Aboriginal people have come through a very difficult time. Our elders remember the times when their elders were alive, and how they spoke of the days before the coming of the white man. It was they who taught us to say “white man,” and now we are told it is longer correct.
I think it is hard for us today to imagine the changes that our elders have witnessed over a lifetime. Chief Dan George said it best, “we have come from the stone age to the space age in a few short years.” Our people are still reeling from the transformation of our world. My great-grandfather died at age 100 in 1967, and he spoke of the promises made in 1864 by the governor. Promises that have been forgotten, promises made in the wind.
Today, there are so few of our people who have survived who still live by their old principals of humility and honour. They cling to a vision of the past given to them by their elders. They still pray in the old way and some pray in the new way. We know that nothing can be gained by fighting over the past. Our eyes are fixed on tomorrow. What will our children be like in 50 years? Will they still be Sto:lo? Will they still eat the salmon and call them brothers? Will they still sing our songs at funerals, and pray to the creator on the mountain in our own language?
Yes, our reality has changed since 1864 and I am sure it will change even more in the years to come. But we must cling to our old ways and pass them on to the next generation; they have served us well for a thousand years.
We cannot survive in a world filled with conflict and war. We must choose our battles well and expend our limited energies on what is important right now. Our people are dying from disease, from drugs, from imprisonment, from poverty. Our battle is within and that is where we must spend our time and energy. Reconciliation means to find a path that is wide enough for us all to walk, to walk together in mutual respect and understanding. Peaceful co-existence is the way for modern society to achieve a better lifestyle for us all. Thank you.
- Honorary Aides-de-Camp:
- - Major Gino Simeoni
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