This past week, students from my ASTU class had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Anthropology’s c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city. The city c̓əsnaʔəm, is the area right off the Arthur Laing Bridge as you enter Vancouver (where the bus depot and budget car lot is located). Prior to visiting the exhibit, I had no idea the area was a significant piece of first nations land (a burial ground) and after finding out, I was displeased to think that the Federal Government decided to brush aside the importance of this land in order to develop it. The struggle of first nations individuals in the area is still happening today and thankfully, the area was not further developed after prolonged protests the development did not proceed. There are still signs of that struggle such as this advertisement for condos which has yet to be removed.
To me, the exhibit further highlights the ongoing struggle between first nations groups and the federal government. While these groups would like to retain their land which is significant to their culture, non first nations individuals see a place of opportunity, they see money. In essence, I believe c̓əsnaʔəm, is a tangible archive because there is so much history embedded in that land, literally (the grounds contain remains of the deceased). Therefore if it was to be developed, that archive would be destroyed. I believe the attempt to develop c̓əsnaʔəm can be considered assimilation. What is surprising is that even after groups such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the Federal Government issued apologies to the First Nations peoples of Canada, they still go on in their ways and take land from the people that were present prior. Apologies are not enough and I think it is time for the Federal government to honor the wishes of first nations groups and not take away any more land from them because they have been marginalized ever since settlers came to Canada.
I found connections to my ASTU class as the focus of the last few weeks have been how archives (a derivative of the class’ focus on life narratives) retain a sort of collective memory of peoples or groups. I believe the struggles of the people of c̓əsnaʔəm will be put in an archive as it was one of the few instances were the people succeeded over the government. Along with ASTU, I was able to connect c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city with my sociology course as well. In our Indigeneity and Culture lecture, Professor Sherrie Dilley gave us a lecture on Indigenous issues. What stood out to me was the ongoing “resistance to cultural assimilation” (Dilley, 2015), which was highlighted in the case of Delgamuukw v. British Columbia (1997) regarding the weight of oral histories. At the end of the court case, Judge McEachern concluded that “oral histories held no weight” (Dilley, 2015) even going so far as to say they were not cultured and citing 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes in supporting his views. The judge basically states that oral history should not be treated as something archival. I was able to connect Sociology and ASTU in terms of archives. Along with examining first nations issues in a lecture, we had to do a reflection paper on an archival website called “Where are the Children?” were we examined testimonies of first nations individuals who survived residential schools and gave our take on it utilizing a sociological theory of our choosing.
There needs to be an extension of the conversation concerning land issues between First Nations and the Federal Government so that the taking of land can be understood and stopped.
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Works Cited
Dilley, S. (2015). Indigeneity and Culture [PowerPoint slides]. retrieved from https://connect.ubc.ca/webapps/blackboard/content/
“Google Maps.” Google Maps. Google. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
Rowley, Susan, and Jordan Wilson. “Museum of Anthropology at UBC | C̓esnaʔəm, The City Before the City at MOA.” Museum of Anthropology at UBC. UBC. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.
“Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools.” Where Are The Children. Truth and Reconciliation Comission. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.