By Vanessa Broadbent (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: July 4, 2014
Last weekend’s films left one visitor feeling like she “was experiencing a historic moment.”
The Images and Land Claims series featured films, maps, and discussions at the Chilliwack Stó:lo Resource Centre on the Coqualeetza grounds.
Hosted by UFV and Stó:lo Nation, the weekend featured various films and presentations exploring the land claims of the Kalahari (South Africa), the Gitksan (BC), and the Evenki (Siberia). Maps illustrated the areas of the land claims and how the issues affected these areas.
Saturday started with a bus tour of Stó:lo territory guided by Sonny MacHalsie, cultural advisor and historian for the Stó:lo Research and Resource Management Centre.
In addition to learning about their culture and touring their territory, attendees enjoyed a traditional Stó:lo salmon barbecue on Saturday evening.
Anthropologist Hugh Brody, UFV’s Canada Research Chair in Aboriginal Studies, introduced his new film Tracks Across Sand, exploring the South African Kalahari land claims. The film was followed by a discussion led by Kalahari San tribe representatives, Annetta Bok and Dirk Pienaar.
On Saturday evening, Nettie Wilde’s film Blockade explored the issue of land claims in northwestern British Columbia. Neil Sterritt and Don Ryan, who was the chief negotiator of the Gitksan land claims, led a Q&A period.
Visitors discussed the issues from 1992 and 1993 — the time the movie was filmed — and how these issues are still relevant in British Columbia today. The group also explored the significance of the maps made of the Gitksan territory.
Images and Land Claims took place near the end of the four-week UFV Indigenous Maps, Films, Rights, and Land Claims certificate.
“This event is a unique standalone weekend, but it’s taking place within the four weeks of the certificate,” Brody explained. “I wanted it to take place then so the students of the certificate could come.”
According to Brody, the goal of the event was to “share ideas, be involved, and to share thinking; to explore ideas together and create an opportunity for the public to come.
“You might say, why does this event not happen a lot more often?” Brody asked. “These are hugely important issues that affect thousands of people and thousands of cultures around the world. How do they establish their right to land, their right to culture? How do they rebuild their pride and self-respect? It’s a huge issue for Canada. The idea is to have a weekend where people can hear about it, think about it, and explore the meaning of the land claims.”
