[Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]
It's my pleasure to be here today at the behest of my nation to talk about something that's very important to our family. In our language, Tsleil-Waututh [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num], we call ourselves the people of the inlet, and it refers to the Burrard Inlet. Our family has been on these shores for thousands of years. My late grandfather talked about our hunting trails that today are known as Robson Street and Thurlow Street, where we used to hunt for deer.
We've seen huge impacts to our lands and to the environment. One of our [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num] is my [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num], my great, great, great-grandfather, [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]. He could talk to the ones that lived in the water, to the fish, to the killer whale and to all the creatures that lived in the water. When he passed away, he was laid to rest on a little island, [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]. Just across from that main village is an island. Today, they call it Boulder Island. The area I'm talking about is Belcarra. That island eventually became private and they said we had to move our [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num], our respected leader—we had to remove his remains from there. They paddled him to where our reserve is now [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]. Two killer whales went beside the canoe and escorted him to where our reserve is—Burrard Inlet 3, Indian reserve. Then, when they brought him up the trail to our cemetery, the killer whales didn't go under. They didn't turn around. They backed out of Burrard Inlet. Our word for Burrard Inlet is [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]. That's where we get our name, Tsleil-Waututh.
The elders said they never came back. For many years they didn't come into our waters. In the last 10 years or so, maybe a little more, we've had the odd sighting. When we lose important people, they seem to come in. To our people, they're a barometer of many things. The killer whales disappeared like my elder Ray just said. That's how we almost died off, and the killer whales disappeared at that time. They're starting to come back. I don't think it's a coincidence that they're coming back at a time when our voice is being heard more. When people are listening to us a little more, they're coming back again.
To us the killer whale is a barometer of the environment, of our spiritual health and our physical health. We don't separate all these things, the rocks, the plants, the animals. We consider ourselves all one part of that. It's a more holistic approach that even western education is starting to recognize and value.
So, it's up to us, and that's why I'm here today at the behest of my nation to plead with you, like our dear elder put so well, to do the best we can to protect the killer whales, to protect [Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num], what we call it in our language, to look after them.
It means so much to our family and to our health. In our community, the languages were wiped out in one generation from the residential schools. We're working hard to bring that back. When I look at the whole history of my people, I see it all coming together through one thing, through this killer whale. It's all connected in our world view, in the way we see things and the way our old people see things.
Like my dear elder Ray had expressed, I express to you to consider qullhanumucun in your work.
I'm going to turn it over to my colleague Spencer at this time.
[Witness speaks in Hul'qumi'num]