Re: “RDCK calls for reversal of Sinixt extinction”
I was amazed and thrilled to read that the Regional District of the Central Kootenays passed a resolution calling the federal government to respond to the error of the Sinixt extinction.
And that the motion passed unanimously touched me deeply. Thank you to all of the RDCK directors for taking such a honourable stand on this issue.
The Sinixt extinction is a deep wound for both the Sinixt as well as the settler people who care about truth and justice. To acknowledge at a regional government level that the Sinixt are indeed the people of this land where we have made our homes is a profound gesture.
As Sinixt elder Marilyn James has said, reconciliation is not possible without the reversal of the extinction of her people. Standing up for the truth of the ongoing existence of the Sinixt and acknowledging their responsibilities to their ancestral homeland is where this work begins.
May your bold step bear fruit in the form of action from the Canadian government. And may it inspire others to get the lead out and do the work required to re-establish the rightful Sinixt presence in their tum xula7xw, their traditional territory.
Once again, I am grateful for your courage and for truly representing what so many of your constituents feel. In the language of the Sinixt, I say lim limpt, lim limpt, lim limpt. (thank you).
K.L. Kivi, settler
Blewett