"There are Nisga’a people living in southern British Columbia who are as disconnected from their language, traditions and cultural heritage as I am from the four European homelands of my grandparents.

Even though the physical distance from Vancouver to the Nisga’a territory isn’t as great, for those who have been away for years and even generations, the Nass River Valley in northwestern B.C. may as well be a continent away.

Many never returned after they were taken by the government and sent to residential schools throughout British Columbia and in Alberta. A second wave came south more recently to go to school and to work. They married, raised their families and made a life here. Some have gone back to visit or for vacation. But many of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have never been to the Nass Valley at all.

“A lot of our members felt completely disconnected... .They don’t know what being Nisga’a is all about,” says Sheldon Robinson, the programs and services coordinator for the Nisga’a Ts’amiks Vancouver Society.

“Of course, they could go home any time. But they fear that they’ll embarrass themselves because they don’t know the language or the culture.” Fourteen months ago, at the urging of the elders, the society and its members determined to bridge the physical gap as well as the emotional, cultural and spiritual divide.

In September, 320 of the 1,400 Nisga’a living in the Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island will go home together. A quarter are elders, but the majority are young families, some of whom will be meeting relatives for the first time."

Get the Story:
Daphne Bramham: Nisga’a embarking on the Journey Home (The Vancouver Sun 4/12)