Notice: Press Release and Statement
Date: April 11, 2015
Source: Marilyn James, Smum-Iem
Touchstones Museum-Selkirk College Race To The Bottom: Anti-Academic achievement for Colonial Empire
Last Thursday’s event hosted by Touchstone Museum and Selkirk College is a disappointing, self-disclosing display of collusion in ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Language and a Peoples, Sinixt Nation Peoples.
While the event was cited “to celebrate 35 years of Sinixt presence” in the Kootenays, the event excluded the very Sinixt People who have held the Sinixt presence in the Kootenays. More needs to be explored about political motives in why a museum and a BC college would intentionally misdirect the Canadian public about regional Indigenous knowledge and culture.
Of primary cultural significance, the event sponsors importing false cultural information about Sinixt Peoples and Sinixt Territory, the very Territory within which this event was held. Colville Confederated Tribes representatives incapable of featuring the very work of those Sinixt People who were excluded.
A paying community member of Nelson and vicinity attending a Touchstones Museum and Selkirk College event, you would think, would expect to be presented true depictions regarding the Sinixt Nation. But who validates the authenticity of supposed true culture and language?
The language performed at this event by entertainment troupe Lorae Willey and Shelly Boyd, Colville Tribal members who claim Sinixt heritage, are trained speakers of the Nselcxin (Okanogan/Colville language). On the other hand is Sinixt (Sn-selxcin) language, which is a distinct dialect, separate and apart from the Okanogan/Colville Salish language.
This cultural fact would have been expressed in a professional forum befitting a Museum and a BC College had not the sponsors featured an entertainment troupe, Colville Confederated Tribes representatives scabbed for, at best, was performance art, an insult to Sinixt Ancestors. Prior to the event, a message was delivered by an event representative that a Sinixt Territory spokesperson occupying our Sinixt Territory was unwelcomed.
Still, it may have been commendable to have Salish speakers sharing their Okanogan/Colville language had it been disclosed honestly for that expressed purpose. It is not, however, acceptable to feature the Okanogan/Colville language or any other language as Sinixt; such an act is that of shear cultural ignorance on the part of the entertainment troupe. Would the public know the dialect difference? I would venture the unsuspecting public would NOT.
It is very concerning to have public institutions colluding with public processes to maintain the extinction status of the Sinixt Peoples. Make no mistake, Sinixt extinction enabled and facilitated by public entities is a continuing government exercise by BC and the Crown.
Colville Confederated Tribes representatives, now Selkirk College affiliates, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Okanogan Nation Alliance who are one of the several tribal groups benefitting from the maintained extinct status of the Sinixt Peoples. Simultaneously, the Canadian government hands Sinixt resources and land to these other tribal groups, through the treaty process they have refused to accept, inclusive of the Sinixt land claim document filed in 2007.
In the full strength of the government policies of oppression of Sinixt Peoples’ in which the government demonizes us as “extinct”, it must be understood as attempts towards ethnic cleansing. As ethnic cleansing goes, there are tools in the destruction of economic and political organization, with an intention of weakening the Peoples’ spirit and actual thriving capacity, including demonizing The Peoples. These are the bases of Canadian and U.S. foreign policy, of which First Nations and Tribes are foreign nations according to each respective government’s own interpretation. Keep in mind, boarding schools were and continue to be a more recent oppressive cultural destructive policy.
Government ethnic cleansing policies are disruptive to the respective First Nation and can cause disorientation in the communities.
Here are a few examples of present disorientation, now perpetrated by this Touchstones – Selkirk College event: Cultural cannibalism is present in those poor souls who have gotten tired of the fight and have sold out to Colville Confederated Tribes, like Robert Watt. Moreover, the real ethnic cleansing coup by the event sponsors was to get two Sinixt-claimed persons to commit cultural cannibalism as an entertainment troupe, each disassociated from academic and Sinixt reality, by coming into Sinixt Territory and present either intentionally or ignorantly, Okanogan/Colville language “as Sinixt”. This is beyond sad.
Cultural cannibalism is when you’re supposed to be “tribal” and “celebrate” 35 years of work that you did not do and exclude those who did. Sad that even though Robert Watt, was present as “their boy” at this event they didn’t even publicly recognize him; exclusion isn’t only about physical presence.
Cultural cannibalism is when cultural anomie arrives and First Nations People engage in foreign cultural practices such as substances addiction (like alcohol, peyote) in wanton abandon of the right behavior to of your own entire First Nations cultural community. Both your own cultural community and the “other cultural community” rituals are damaged. Many times with complete denial of damages to the very culture they are participating in (in this case, the depletion of the very peyote fields themselves), damages to self, damages to other participants, damages to community, and damages to the cultural community that is not in “the” place these ceremonies belong.
Cultural cannibalism is any settler person or institution who colludes, excludes, and deludes in the acts of genocide and human rights violation being perpetuated by government process.
A body of work has been attached to this press release that has had nothing to do with the Colville Confederated Tribes, Okanogan Nation Alliance or for any other purpose the to shed light on the continued genocide perpetuated by the Government, through maintained extinction of the Sinixt Peoples. The work stands for the autonomy of the Sinixt Peoples and Nation and nothing short of that is acceptable.
Please make your own contribution to end these acts of madness by colonial empires and ethnic cleansing.
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Notice: Press Release and Statement
Date: April 12, 2013
Sinixt Nation has worked diligently over the past three decades to correct the 1956 Canadian government's extinction status of Sinixt people. The Crown has recognized Sinixt people as indigenous peoples of Canada (as a tribal group) but not as the Indian Act's defined term of “Aboriginal peoples of Canada” as presented in a document dated August 9th, 1995 and signed by then Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin which stated: “The Arrow Lakes Band ceased to exist as a band for the purpose of the Indian Act when-its last [registered] member died on October 1, 1953. ... It does not, of course, mean that the Sinixt people ceased to exist as a tribal group.”
Sinixt Nation has acted in good faith to address the issue of our people being wrongfully extincted and whereas the Crown has not. Our most recent legal challenge against the Crown to protect Sinixt interests to cultural sites was struck down and resulted in the BC Supreme Court forcing the Sinixt people involved to pay for the court costs. We feel this is contrary to the obligations held by the Crown.
“The Crown holds legally binding obligations under international law to recognize and promote the fundamental rights of all human-beings, including the economic, social, cultural, civil, political and religious rights of all Sinixt peoples regardless of the Canadian laws that exist such as the Indian Act,” said Sinixt Nation Headman Vance Robert “Bob” Campbell Sr..
On July 16 2013, Two RCMP officers, one verified as being from the RCMP “E Division” Major Crimes Section and two Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement officers come to “talk” to occupants of the Sinixt encampment on slhu7kin/Perry Ridge. RCMP inform us that anyone blocking the road will be charged with mischief un