
Fall 2022 Saturday Speaker Series: First Nations of Vancouver Island
Time: 10:00 am to Noon
Online Location: Zoom
Registration opens Thursday, August 18 at 8:30 am on Eventbrite!
Overturning History: The White And Bob Case
September 17, 2022 from 10:00 am to Noon
The pivotal land claim case, White and Bob, that turned British Columbia history on its head.
Presenter
Dr. Robin Fisher, historian and former provost and Vice-President Academic of Mount Royal University (Calgary), has taught at several Canadian universities and has researched and published on the history of First Nations/newcomer relations in British Columbia.
About The Talk
The White and Bob case involved two Snuneymuxw men convicted under provincial game regulations for hunting out of season on Mount Benson. They sought to have their conviction overturned in an appeal that tested the fundamental land claims of First Nations people in Canadian law. It was tried in the Nanaimo courthouse in 1964. Their claim was based on a Treaty signed with James Douglas in 1864. For one hundred years the Province of British Columbia had taken the position that there was no such thing as First Nations title to the land: there was simply nothing to discuss. White and Bob overturned that position and initiated another fifty years of litigation before Aboriginal title was established in law.
Biography
Robin Fisher has been a teacher and administrator in several western Canadian Universities. Though not of First Nations descent, he has been honoured with a Blackfoot name, Stum eek see yaan. He has written several books on the history of British Columbia including the prize winning Contact and Conflict: Indian-European relations in British Columbia: 1778-1890, Duff Pattullo of British Columbia and Wilson Duff: Coming Back, a Life. He lives in Nanaimo and continues to teach in the VIU Elder College Program and is vice-chair of the ElderCollege Board.
What Lies Behind The Treasure
October 22, 2022 from 10:00 am to Noon
Taking a deeper look at the inspiration behind and beyond Pacific Northwest Coast art.
Presenter
Haa’yuups, ritualist and speaker, Head of House of Takiishtakamlthat-h (Earthquake House), Clan 'Tlikuulthat-h, Tribe Huupa'chesat-h (People with house over the river).
About The Talk
While scholars have looked at the surface of Pacific Northwest Coast art, Haa'yuups delves behind and beyond the surface. He pays particular attention to what is behind the objects and belief systems at the roots of the ceremonies. This in depth presentation concentrates on four items regularly used in Nuchalnuth Ceremonies. A knowledge keeper, Haa'yuups portrays a view of the world where people see themselves as part of a whole.
Biography
Haa'yuups, ritualist and speaker, is a member of the Huupachesat-h First Nation of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples, Head of House of Takiishtakamlthat-h (Earthquake House), Clan 'Tlikuulthat-h, Tribe Huupa'chesat-h )People with house over the river). He is a fisherman, teacher, researcher, interviewer, author, and public speaker. An acclaimed traditional Nun-chah-nulth carver, singer, dancer, composer, and designer of regalia and thliitsapilthim (curtains) or guiding through the process of ceremony, he also served as co-curator to restore and conserve a section of First Nations cultures of the Pacific Northwest in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
Image by: David Goatley
Food Plants Of Vancouver Island First Peoples
November 19, 2022 from 10:00 am to Noon
This presentation describes some of the key plant foods used by Vancouver Island Indigenous Peoples and the ongoing importance of these foods in the present day.