Opinion: Sinixt Nation still standing strong on its traditional lands

Thursday, July 21, 2011  

"The Sinixt peoples: We are still here, and we are strong!

Unceded Sinixt territory.

Upon arriving in the Slocan Valley. (as it is now called by “the settler” population), I felt a sense of awe, regarding how diverse and beautiful the region is.

This, of course, was tempered by my previous knowledge of the injustices and struggles of the local indigenous people regarding a long history of extermination and resource extraction. Mining, logging, hydro electric projects, water exports and all the pollution that comes with many of these unauthorised, unchallenged, and illegal capitalist activities.

That the land may look a certain way in the moment I am experiencing it now, but it looked much healthier before and beyond what one can see “beyond the highway”."

Get the Story:
Tami Starlight: The Sinixt Nation: "We are still here" (Vancouver Media Co-op 7/21)