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Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Truly amazing and really emotional': Historic mortuary poles returned to Tla'amin Nation after decades-long search
In late 2022, Drew Blaney was at the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) viewing some paddles and masks from his nation that were being held in the institution's basement. While he was walking around, the culture and heritage manager for Tla'amin Nation stumbled across two striking carved wooden figures — one depicting a man and the other depicting a woman holding her arms out, as if she was carrying a child. They looked familiar, so he immediately sent a text to his brother, Tiy'ap thote (Erik Blaney), who had been searching for two mortuary poles belonging to their community for nearly three decades. Blaney asked Tiy'ap thote — who was at a hockey game at the time — if he could send photos of the historic mortuary poles. After a few minutes of trying to find service, ''ding, ding, ding' all these photos started popping up on my phone,' Blaney said. 'I'm standing there looking at the photos of the poles on my phone and sure enough it's the same two mortuary poles that are standing there in the Museum of Anthropology.' In return, Blaney sent his brother a photo of the poles in front of him. Tiy'ap thote said when he saw a photo of the mortuary poles he had been searching for pop up on his phone 'I almost fell out of my seat.' The two mortuary poles — along with paddles, masks, and baskets — have now been returned to Tla'amin as part of a repatriation from MOA and the Museum of Vancouver. On June 21, National Indigenous Peoples Day, a ceremony was held in the nation to celebrate the return of the objects. Tla'amin is a self-governing nation located just north of 'Powell River' on the upper Sunshine Coast. The ceremony took place as part of a larger celebration for the opening of Ɂəms ʔayɛ (Our House), Tla'amin Nation's brand new cultural centre, located in the village of Tł'ihšosum. Ɂəms ʔayɛ is the first big house to be located in the Tla'amin's territory in over 107 years, since the previous big house was destroyed by a fire in 1918 . More than 400 people, many wearing traditional regalia, came together from Tla'amin, Homalco, Klahoose, and K'ómoks — known as the four sister nations — to mark the occasion through songs, dancing, drumming, the repatriation ceremony, and a cedar braid cutting unveiling Ɂəms ʔayɛ. Ɂəms ʔayɛ will serve as the community's cultural space, spanning more than 1,390 square metres (15,000 square feet). The facility includes a feast hall, traditional foods facility, language lab, medicinal gardens, communal smokehouse, and museum to safekeep Tla'amins cultural belongings including the mortuary poles. Mortuary poles are made to mark the gravesite of someone who has passed. Tla'amin Nation believes that these particular poles were marking the grave of a family who passed away together. Before now, the only knowledge of the poles was through a photo taken on their original village site, tiskʷat, in the late 1800s. Tla'amin had been removed from the site , which became the 'Powell River' 'paper and pulp mill and later, Paper Catalyst Excellence. A large part of the physical search and research for these poles was done by Tiy'ap thote, who is a legislator for Tla'amin. He began looking for the two mortuary poles when he was 16 years old, after the late Elder Henry Bob told him a story about tiskʷat and the two poles. Tiy'ap thote said that Bob requested that he try to find the poles, and ever since he had been searching for them by researching the nation's archives and hiking through Tla'amin lands. His brother Blaney explained that over the years, Tla'amin had visited MOA many times, but never came to the realization that the poles were there until that visit in 2022. He believes that part of the reasoning is due to the poles being previously mislabeled as Stó:lō Nation poles. MOA's director and curator Susan Rowley explained the origins of the poles had 'always been a question,' because they were brought in as part of the Reverend George H. Raley collection after he passed away, and much of the documentation was lost. Raley was a former residential 'school' principal of the Coqualeetza Industrial School in 'Chilliwack,' according to the British Columbia Archival Information Network . After confirming the poles belonged to Tla'amin, the nation and MOA began the process of repatriation and bringing the poles, masks and paddles back home last spring. Tla'amin's plan was to house the poles and other items in Ɂəms ʔayɛ's museum space once complete. Rowley explained that because MOA is a part of University of British Columbia, this process is done in alignment with the university's guidelines and policies around repatriation to work with communities. Blaney said this year, on June 4 and 5, he along with some members of the nation — including council members and the hegus (chief) — had two small ceremonies at both MOA and MOV. They were joined by museum staff and a delegation from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Indian Band. 'We thought that was really important for us, because the poles have been standing in Musqueam territory for over 50 years,' said Blaney. 'Musqueam ancestors have been there, they've touched these poles … They shared their paddle song with us for a safe journey home for the mortuary poles.' In the end, the poles traveled home in a U-Haul. Blaney said they were strapped down to a wooden platform inside the vehicle to keep them safe. He took his brother Tiy'ap thote to see the poles first thing in the morning when they arrived home, which he described as an emotional moment. He said 'every step of this journey has been truly amazing.' 'You know, from seeing the photos as a young person, working for the treaty department in my teen years, doing the research on that. Then all the tiskʷat questions, seeing that photo come up many times,' Blaney said. 'And then fast forward to now, going to the museum, finding them, having them come home like every step of it has been truly amazing and really emotional.' Tiy'ap thote shared that bringing the poles back has been a significant time for the whole community. Last year, Tla'amin submitted a specific claim to the federal government for tiskʷat, at the same time they were in communications with Domtar (formerly, Catalyst Paper Excellence) to purchase back their original village and mill site. As of March 17, 2025 , the parties reached an agreement, and Tla'amin now owns most of tiskʷat. 'The journey home is obviously something that brings up a lot of emotion, since we're heavily involved in, you know, the land back portion of getting tiskʷat back,' he said. 'So the significance is huge in that everything seems to be coming back that we lost, and opportunities are now here. I mean, the timing is just unbelievable, really, to think that, you know, we lost these 130-140 years ago, and they're [tiskʷat and the mortuary poles] coming back just in the same year … It just feels like it's now full circle.' Now, as the nation celebrates Ɂəms ʔayɛ, tiskʷat, and the poles, Tiy'ap thote said the next big project he'd like to do is creating a 3D map of tiskʷat's village. 'I want to have a visual of what it would have looked like pre contact, and obviously taking pieces of our history, archives, records, and photos. I think this is the next step, or the next phase of that sort of project is; 'fan out. Let's get some summer students out into the museums and find more artifacts and build more of the story,'' said Tiy'ap thote. 'But let's also get in our people's mind what the village would have looked like back in the day, and start thinking about what life would have been like 1,000 years ago at tiskʷat.' For Blaney, he looks forward to the community and future generations having a space to practice culture and language. 'It's hard to put it into words, but there's just so many emotions in that [Ɂəms ʔayɛ opening] and there was about three or four times during the ceremony where I just looked up and I thought, wow, this is our home and that's exactly the name of it, Ɂəms ʔayɛ. It's our home.' He explained that over the years, nation members have traveled to many different communities during tribal canoe journeys. 'Being inside the big houses up and down the coast has always been something that we really wanted. So there's just so many emotions, it's hard to put into words,' he said. 'When I was younger, I remember there were plans for a big house in our village, and so it's been talked about for decades here.' On opening day, drumming and singing echoed through the village of Tł'ihšosum, as more people came together to celebrate the opening of Ɂəms ʔayɛ. During the songs, even an eagle flew by, calling out, then landing in a tree where the raptor stayed for the rest of Ɂəms ʔayɛ's ceremony — sparking emotion in the crowd. Blaney said being inside the building, seeing people fill the bleachers and the fire lit, was a powerful moment. 'There were a couple of moments where I had to pinch myself and remind myself that I'm actually home in Tišosem.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. 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CBC
13-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Calls for government support intensify as 3rd Vancouver Island Indigenous group declares state of emergency
The Homalco First Nation is holding its fourth funeral in six months this week for a young community member who died from a drug overdose. The north Island Nation is the third Indigenous group on Vancouver Island to declare a state of emergency due to the toxic drug crisis. It is joining calls for federal and provincial government leaders to take urgent action and provide resources to help them deal with it. "This crisis is a direct result of the aftermath of residential schools and the lasting generational trauma that continues to devastate Indigenous communities," it said. "The toxic drug epidemic is not just a Homalco issue—it is a direct consequence of colonial policies that fractured families, suppressed culture, and left lasting scars on Indigenous people." In March 2024, the Gwa'Sala-Nakwaxda'xw Nations, two north Island Nations with a population of 1,100, declared a state of emergency following the deaths of 11 members. The Nation said that many died due to drug poisoning and alcohol. The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council, which represents 14 West Coast nations with about 10,000 members on the island, declared a state of emergency in September due to the mental health and opioid crisis. One of their member communities, the Ahousaht First Nation, had declared a state of emergency two weeks prior to that, following the deaths of two young people within hours of each other in separate incidents. First Nations leader says 'we're in a crisis' Terry Teegee, regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, says that 10 years into the toxic drug crisis, not enough co-ordinated, culturally appropriate support or resources have gone to Indigenous communities. Indigenous people, particularly women, make up a disproportionate number of the lives lost to toxic drugs. "I think we're in a crisis state with many First Nations across this province," said Teegee, who blames the generational trauma from residential schools for the depth of the current crisis. "One of the things that we're seeing sadly is almost a whole generation die as a result of the opioid crisis." Homalco Chief Darren Blaney spoke in a video posted to social media announcing the nation's state of emergency. He expressed sadness at the recent deaths of its four young members and said that Homalco leaders would be holding a community dinner on March 14 to discuss plans for addressing the crisis. "It's going to take more than chief and council to help the community to keep the drug dealers out, but also to support people when they're trying to sober up," he said in the video. "We need to have our young people be able to realize all of their potential." The leadership of the Homalco Nation and the First Nations Health Authority were not immediately available for an interview when contacted by CBC. Blaney called on the province to engage with the Homalco and other nations who have declared a state of emergency to come up with immediate long-term solutions through a government-to-government process. The CBC did not receive an immediate response from the province when asked for a comment. Blaney says he hopes to receive more funding to build a trauma centre to help prevent future deaths.
