Statimc Native Youth Movement Warrior Society St'at'imc Nation, Tsalalh
Territory
Re: 2010 Olympics
To Whom It May Concern;
Please accept this letter as a declaration of opposition to the upcoming
2010 Olympics set to take place within traditional St'at'imc Borders. Many
members of our Nation, including children, youth, elders and land users do
not support the Olympics taking place in Whistler for many reasons.
First being that Whistler and many other towns, cities and municipalities
are illegally occupied by foreigners and run by fraudulent government
systems that oppress the original inhabitants, the St'at'imc People. These
government systems are built to hold lands illegally and destruct entire
ecosystems in order to gain profit for the already wealthy corporations.
In turn, the St'at'imc People are pushed aside while traditional hunting and
fishing grounds; once used freely at will, then become Privatized, and or
"Crown Land." Our people depend on migration of animals for basic survival
and the teachings we pass onto our next generations. The people visiting our
territory are tourists and do not depend on fish and deer for long hard
winters. Many people who are impoverished depend solely on these animals to
feed their families and the more people who disrupt the delicate balance
between the environment, animals and humans, the worse off surrounding
tribes will be. This includes major health concerns including Cancer,
diabetes, substance abuse and spiritual well-being.
We, as Indian people of this territory need the balance of our Mother Earth
in order to maintain strong ties to who we are as Original People.
The second issue at stake with the upcoming Olympics is the misuse of
traditional cultural practices such as ceremony and song. Many of these
practices by our people are meant to only be shared within the territory,
and therefore only be used by the original People of the St'at'imc Nation.
Out of respect for all ancestors who carried these songs and ceremonies thus
far, we need to keep the traditions strong by teaching them to our younger
generations, instead of foreigners first. The knowledge of these traditional
ceremonies is a privilege and should not be mocked or commercialized in
exchange for money, if not respected, these ceremonies will be useless and
meaningless.
The funding of the Olympics before the funding of the suffering, homeless
and impoverished people of these Indian territories shows only that the
government in B.C. is only interested in economic gain and not the
well-being of the people who lived here prior to the Olympics. These groups
of people include young mothers, single parents, people of color, and drug
dependant people who have nowhere to turn, except the streets or worse off,
death. The Indian people of the streets in Vancouver need to return to the
traditional ways of living, including feeling pride to be Indian.
Further impoverishment will conclude in complete loss of culture, language
and ways of living on our land. More money is sure to cause more problems
for our people in the sense that our systems are not based on economic gain,
but spiritual, physical, and mental well being, this includes a sense of
belonging to where we come from. If our Land is destroyed, there is no hope
to regain our knowledge as traditional St'at'imc People, but as a product of
foreign rule and fraudulent systematic genocide.
To those who are supportive of the Olympics, there are many reasons for you
to reconsider your support including the future of your children and the
continuation of our ways as Original People. Selling our land, means selling
our rights to the land, this includes hunting, fishing and building
traditional homes for food preservation and recreational uses.
Once these agreements are made, they are forever, thus leaving our upcoming
generations with no option but to abide by the foreign rule, and not to
maintain ownership held for thousands of years by our ancestors. In
conclusion, man has no power over the Earth, we must care for this Land as
though our lives depend as it, as it does. We depend on our Earth for water,
food, homes, and spiritual well-being. There is no one to protect it but us,
therefore we must take our proper place in defending the land as Original
People. In one way or the other, each of our tribes hold names that
represent Original People.
Our tribe, are Ucwalmicw, People of the Land, we will defend our land by all
means necessary.
Sincerely,Tsalalhmec
